Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/17pdf/17-965_h315.pdf
Page Number: 21

16 

TRUMP v. HAWAII 

Opinion of the Court 

individualized  approach  for  determining  admissibility.
The  INA  sets  forth  various  inadmissibility  grounds  based 
on connections to terrorism and criminal history, but those 
provisions  can  only  work  when  the  consular  officer  has 
sufficient  (and  sufficiently  reliable)  information  to  make
that determination.  The Proclamation promotes the effec-
tiveness  of  the  vetting  process  by  helping  to  ensure  the 
availability of such information.

Plaintiffs suggest that the entry restrictions are unnec-
essary  because  consular  officers  can  simply  deny  visas  in 
individual cases when an alien fails to carry his burden of
proving  admissibility—for  example,  by  failing  to  produce
certified  records  regarding  his  criminal  history.    Brief  for 
Respondents  48.  But  that  misses  the  point:  A  critical 
finding  of  the  Proclamation  is  that  the  failure  of  certain
countries  to  provide  reliable  information  prevents  the 
Government  from  accurately  determining  whether  an
alien  is  inadmissible  or  poses  a  threat.    Proclamation 
§1(h).  Unless  consular  officers  are  expected  to  apply 
categorical  rules  and  deny  entry  from  those  countries 
across  the  board,  fraudulent  or  unreliable  documentation 
may  thwart  their  review  in  individual  cases.    And  at  any 
rate,  the  INA  certainly  does  not  require  that  systemic
problems  such  as  the  lack  of  reliable  information  be  ad-
dressed only in a progression of case-by-case admissibility 
determinations.  One  of  the  key  objectives  of  the  Procla-
mation  is  to  encourage  foreign  governments  to  improve 
their practices, thus facilitating the Government’s vetting 
process overall.  Ibid. 

Nor is there a conflict between the Proclamation and the 
Visa Waiver Program.  The Program allows travel without
a  visa  for  short-term  visitors  from  38  countries  that  have 
entered  into  a  “rigorous  security  partnership”  with  the 
United States.  DHS,  U. S.  Visa  Waiver Program (Apr.  6,
2016),  http://www.dhs.gov/visa-waiver-program  (as  last
visited  June  25,  2018).  Eligibility  for  that  partnership