Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/17pdf/17-965_h315.pdf
Page Number: 62.0

6 

TRUMP v. HAWAII 

BREYER, J., dissenting 

of student and exchange visitors, covering only those from
Syria,  which  provided  8  percent  of  student  and  exchange
visitors  from  the  five  countries  in  2016.    §§2(b)–(h);  see 
Dept. of State, Report of the Visa Office 2016, Table XVII 
Nonimmigrant Visas Issued Fiscal Year 2016 (Visa Report
2016  Table  XVII).  Visitors  from  Somalia  are  eligible  for 
any  type  of  nonimmigrant  visa,  subject  to  “additional
scrutiny.”  §2(h)(ii). 
If  nonimmigrant  visa  applications 
under  the  Proclamation  resemble  those  in  2016,  16  per-
cent  of  visa  applicants  would  be  eligible  for  exemptions. 
See Visa Report 2016 Table XVII.

In practice, however, only 258 student visas were issued
to applicants from Iran (189), Libya (29), Yemen (40), and
Somalia (0) in the first three months of 2018.  See Dept. of
State, Nonimmigrant Visa Issuances by Nationality, Jan., 
Feb.,  and  Mar.  2018.  This  is  less  than  a  quarter  of  the 
volume needed to be on track for 2016 student visa levels. 
And  only  40  nonimmigrant  visas  have  been  issued  to 
Somali  nationals,  a  decrease  of  65  percent  from  2016. 
Ibid.; see Visa Report 2016 Table XVII.  While this is but a 
piece  of  the  picture,  it  does  not  provide  grounds  for 
confidence. 

Anecdotal  evidence  further  heightens  these  concerns. 
For  example,  one  amicus  identified  a  child  with  cerebral 
palsy in Yemen.  The war had prevented her from receiv-
ing  her  medication,  she  could  no  longer  move  or  speak,
and her doctors said she would not survive in Yemen.  Her 
visa  application  was  denied.    Her  family  received  a  form 
with  a  check  mark  in  the  box  unambiguously  confirming
that “ ‘a waiver will not be granted in your case.’ ”  Letter 
from  L.  Blatt  to  S.  Harris,  Clerk  of  Court  (May  1,  2018).
But  after  the  child’s  case  was  highlighted  in  an  amicus 
brief before this Court, the family received an update from 
the consular officer who had initially denied the waiver.  It 
turns  out,  according  to  the  officer,  that  she  had  all  along
determined  that  the  waiver  criteria  were  met.    But,  the