Hawaii's New Efforts to Limit Trump's Immigration Order

The state of Hawaii has launched a new campaign aimed at limiting the temporary entry ban for a group of citizens from Iran and five other countries into the United States. Parts of Donald Trump's executive order have been implemented following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court. Previously, a federal judge in Hawaii had rejected the state's attorney's request to make changes to the Supreme Court's decision, describing the legal approach as flawed. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in early July to enforce parts of the temporary ban on citizens from six predominantly Muslim countries and refugees entering the U.S. According to the regulations established after this ruling, only those citizens from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, and Sudan who have very close family relationships, including parents, spouses, children, adult sons or daughters, children’s spouses, siblings, and fiancés residing in the United States, can apply for U.S. visas. Under the new regulations, grandparents, grandchildren, or other family members, including uncles, aunts, or their children, do not qualify for the necessary ties to obtain a visa. The attorney general of Hawaii had requested the court to reconsider the definition of close relatives as stated in the Supreme Court's ruling. The attorney general sought to include individuals such as grandparents in the visa application regulations. However, the federal judge stated that he is not in a position to change or interpret the Supreme Court's rulings and thus rejected the request. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Hawaii, California, Washington, and several other states, announced on July 7 that the court could issue a judicial ruling in the future if the government acts contrary to the Supreme Court's ruling regarding a specific individual. Hours after this announcement, Hawaii submitted an official request for this ruling.