NEWS UPDATE: Supreme Court Temporarily Upholds Travel Ban on Certain Refugees, Will Revisit Issue Next Month

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court, without opinion, voted to temporarily uphold the travel ban on a majority of people who had been granted refugee status in the United States and were scheduled to be placed with an American resettlement agency.  Nothing else is known about the vote or breakdown within the Court, other than that at least five justices voted in favor of continuing the ban.

As a result of this ruling, the ban on many refugees coming into the United States will continue until at least October, when the Court hears further arguments on the travel ban, and likely months after that until a decision is made.  According to CNN, this could affect about 24,000 people seeking refuge in the United States.

In order to gain admission, refugees will need to establish – as do visa applicants from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen – that they have a “bona fide relationship” with a U.S. Citizen family member, employer, or school in the United States.  Simply establishing a well-grounded fear of return to the applicant’s home country will not be enough.

Oral arguments before the Supreme Court are scheduled for October 10.  We will continue to update you on this issue as it progresses.

If you have questions about this post or any other immigration topic, please contact me at wcmenard@nmmlaw.com.