Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/17pdf/17-965_h315.pdf
Page Number: 1.0

(Slip Opinion) 

OCTOBER  TERM,  2017 

1 

Syllabus 

NOTE:  Where  it  is  feasible,  a  syllabus  (headnote)  will  be  released,  as  is
being  done  in  connection  with  this  case,  at  the  time  the  opinion  is  issued.
The  syllabus  constitutes  no  part  of  the  opinion  of  the  Court  but  has  been
prepared  by  the  Reporter  of  Decisions  for  the  convenience  of  the  reader. 
See United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co., 200 U. S. 321, 337. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

Syllabus 

TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, ET AL. 
v. HAWAII ET AL. 

CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR 
THE NINTH CIRCUIT 

No. 17–965.  Argued April 25, 2018—Decided June 26, 2018 

In September 2017, the President issued Proclamation No. 9645, seek-
ing  to  improve  vetting  procedures  for  foreign  nationals  traveling  to
the  United  States  by  identifying  ongoing  deficiencies  in  the  infor-
mation  needed  to  assess  whether  nationals  of  particular  countries 
present a security threat.  The Proclamation placed entry restrictions 
on the nationals of eight foreign states whose systems  for managing 
and sharing information about their nationals the President deemed
inadequate.  Foreign states were selected for inclusion based on a re-
view undertaken pursuant to one of the President’s earlier Executive
Orders.  As part of that review, the Department of Homeland Securi-
ty (DHS), in consultation with the State Department and intelligence 
agencies,  developed  an  information  and  risk  assessment  “baseline.” 
DHS  then  collected  and  evaluated  data  for  all  foreign  governments,
identifying  those  having  deficient  information-sharing  practices  and
presenting  national  security  concerns,  as  well  as  other  countries  “at 
risk”  of  failing  to  meet  the  baseline.    After  a  50-day  period  during 
which  the  State  Department  made  diplomatic  efforts  to  encourage 
foreign governments to improve their practices, the Acting Secretary
of  Homeland  Security  concluded  that  eight  countries—Chad,  Iran, 
Iraq,  Libya,  North  Korea,  Syria,  Venezuela,  and  Yemen—remained
deficient.    She  recommended  entry  restrictions  for  certain  nationals 
from all of those countries but Iraq, which had a close cooperative re-
lationship with the U. S.   She also recommended including Somalia,
which met the information-sharing component of the baseline stand-
ards but had other special risk factors, such as a significant terrorist 
presence.  After consulting with multiple Cabinet members, the Pres-
ident  adopted  the  recommendations  and  issued  the  Proclamation.