SCOTUS Rules in Favor of Trump Administration in "Travel Ban" Case

On June 26, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States released its decision in Trump v. Hawaii, 585 U.S. ___ (2018) [PDF version]. Chief Justice John Roberts, joined by Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch, authored an opinion reversing the decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to enjoin the entry restrictions (“travel ban”) against nationals of seven countries contained in President Donald Trump's Presidential Proclamation 9645 (Sep. 24, 2017) [see article on Proclamation]. In so doing, the five-Justice majority concluded that the President had acted within his statutory authority and that the entry restrictions did not violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Although the decision has broad legal implications going forward, it does not change the circumstances for individuals affected by Proclamation 9645, because the Supreme Court had already stayed the Ninth Circuit injunction on December 4, 2017, meaning that the entry restrictions have been operating with full force for several months now.

We look forward to publishing articles on the majority opinion, two concurring opinions, and two dissenting opinions in Trump v. Hawaii in the coming days. In addition, we will also publish an index article cataloging all of our articles and blog posts on the three iterations of President Trump's “travel bans” and related issues. To learn about the rules currently in place, please see our full article on the entry restrictions in Presidential Proclamation 9645 [see article].