Hawaii rushed to federal court late Thursday to challenge the revived travel ban, saying the Trump administration is drawing too broad a line in deciding who can still be blocked from entering the country.
The ban went into effect at 8 p.m., just days after the Supreme Court ruled President Trump did have the authority — within limits — to halt admissions from six majority-Muslim countries, and to pause the refugee program.
The court said those with close relationships to U.S. persons must still be admitted because those U.S. persons have rights, but others can be excluded.
Under the definition laid out by federal officials Thursday, spouses, children and siblings will be admitted, but grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews and even engaged partners can be excluded as not having a close enough connection.
Officials said they drew their definitions from federal immigration law and from examples given in the Supreme Court’s ruling.
But Hawaii Attorney General Douglas S. Chin said the administration went too narrow.
“In Hawaii, ’close family’ includes many of the people that the federal government decided on its own to exclude from that definition. Unfortunately, this severely limited definition may be in violation of the Supreme Court ruling,” he said.
Justice Clarence Thomas had predicted a slew of lawsuits stemming from the court’s ruling Monday.
Hawaii was the lead plaintiff in one of the earlier lawsuits against Mr. Trump’s travel ban, winning a broad injunction from U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson, an appointee of President Obama.
Judge Watson’s ruling has been partially overturned by first a federal appeals court and now the Supreme Court.
Hawaii’s latest challenge goes back to him, giving him another chance to weigh in.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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