Opinion ID: 8312469
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Executive Order and the Supreme Court Decision

Text: President Trump issued the Executive Order on March 6, 2017. The Executive  Order expired on September 24, 2017. 3 The Executive Order imposed a 90-day suspension on entry into the United States for nationals of six countries-Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Section 2(c) of the Executive Order provides: (c) To temporarily reduce investigative burdens on relevant agencies during the review period described in subsection (a) of this section, to ensure the proper review and maximum utilization of available resources for the screening and vetting of foreign nationals, to ensure that adequate standards are established to prevent infiltration by foreign terrorists, and in light of the national security concerns referenced in section 1 of this order, I hereby proclaim, pursuant to sections 212(f) and 215(a) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(f) and 1185(a), that the unrestricted entry into the United States of nationals of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. I therefore direct that the entry into the United States of nationals of those six countries be suspended for 90 days from the effective date of this order, subject to the limitations, waivers, and exceptions set forth in sections 3 and 12 of this order. Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, Exec. Order No. 13780, 82 Fed. Reg. 13209 , 13213 (2017). The Executive Order was challenged on constitutional and statutory grounds in several different courts, and by the end of March, two injunctions prohibited the enforcement of Section 2(c). Two U.S. Courts of Appeals-the Fourth Circuit and the Ninth Circuit-largely upheld both injunctions. See Int'lRefugee Assistance Project v. Trump , 857 F.3d 554 (4th Cir. 2017), cert. granted , --- U.S. ----, 137 S.Ct. 2080 , 198 L.Ed.2d 643 (2017) ; Hawaii v. Trump , 859 F.3d 741 (9th Cir. 2017), cert. granted sub nom. Trump v. Int'l Refugee Assistance Project , --- U.S. ----, 137 S.Ct. 2080 , 198 L.Ed.2d 643 (2017). The government filed a petition for certiorari in International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) , as well as applications to stay the preliminary injunctions entered by the lower courts. On June 26, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court granted the government's petition for certiorari, and granted, in part, the government's motions to stay the preliminary injunctions pending resolution of the merits. 4 Trump , 137 S.Ct. at 2087 . The Court granted a stay of the injunctions as applied to section 2(c) of the Executive Order with respect to foreign nationals who lack any bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States. Id . The Court left the injunctions in place with respect to respondents and those similarly situated-that is, those who had relationships with people or entities in the United States whose rights might be affected if those foreign nationals were excluded. Id . The Court reasoned that [d]enying entry to [a foreign national with no connection to the United States at all] does not burden any American party by reason  of that party's relationship with the foreign national. Id . at 2088. In addition, the court noted that the Government's interest in enforcing § 2(c), and the Executive's authority to do so, are undoubtedly at their peak when there is no tie between the foreign national and the United States. Id .