In recent days, Trump’s stock has been rising in the estimation of the Alt-Right. One big success has been the imposition of the Muslim travel ban. This faced a lot of interference from the courts, but the Trump administration has stuck to its guns and kept pushing for it.
Although somewhat watered down, a version of the travel ban has now been implemented, taking effect 8pm Eastern Time, Thursday (29th June). The Departments of Homeland Security, State, and Justice were able to impose the ban after getting the nod from the Supreme Court, which partially restored the order earlier this week.
The ban will limit “kebab imports” from six majority Muslim countries, afflicted with toxic levels of Islamic terrorism, namely Sudan, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.
The watered-down part of the ban is that those who can prove “a close family relationship or an existing relationship with an entity like a business or school in the United States” will be allowed to slip through. The ban stipulates that these business links must be “formal, documented and formed in the ordinary course rather than for the purpose of evading.”
The State Department said the family relationships valid for entry would include a parent, spouse, son, daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law or sibling already in the United States. It excludes other relationships, such as grandparents, grandchildren, aunts and uncles, cousins, second cousins, gay boyfriends, and “soul mates.”
The ban will also stop “refugees” unless they obtain a so-called “national interest waiver” from the State Department or Border Patrol, which is unlikely as the U.S. has almost filled its quota of 50,000 refugees for the budget year.
There are still a few potential loopholes, so a close watch will have to be kept on the implementation of the ban, but, still, this is an important milestone.
The Supreme Court will reconsider the overall ban in October.
