A federal judge on Saturday partially blocked President Trump's suspension of refugee admissions from 11 countries, nine of which are majority-Muslim: Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, North Korea, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. After hearing arguments Thursday, U.S. District Judge James Robart ruled that refugee applications must be processed for those with "a bona fide relationship to a person or entity within the United States."
The Trump administration claimed the ban "is a reasonable and appropriate way for agency heads to tackle gaps" in vetting procedure, but Robart said vetting is already rigorous and that the ban will "harm the United States' national security and foreign policy interests."
The Justice Department said in a statement it "disagree[s] with the court's ruling and [is] currently evaluating the next steps." In the meantime, read The Week's Shikha Dalmia on why the Trump administration's travel restrictions are nonsensical.
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