Supreme Court allows Trump to limit entry from six countries

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court is allowing US President Donald Trump to forge ahead with a limited version of his ban on travel from six mostly Muslim countries to the United States.

The justices will hear full arguments in October in the case that has stirred debate nationwide and rebukes from lower courts, saying the administration is targeting Muslims.

Until then, the court said Monday, Trump's ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen can be enforced if those visitors lack a "credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States".

The ruling sets up a potential clash between the government and opponents of the ban over the strength of visitors' ties to the United States.

Immigrant groups said relatively few people try to enter the United States without well-established ties. Those groups said they will be sending lawyers and monitors back to American airports, where the initial, immediate implementation of the ban in January caused chaos.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the ban would be implemented 72 hours after being cleared by courts. That means it will take effect Thursday morning.

The president has denied that the ban targets Muslims but says it is needed "to protect the nation from terrorist activities" committed by citizens of the six countries. All six have been designated as presenting heightened concerns about terrorism and travel to the United States.

The 90-day ban is necessary to allow an internal review of screening procedures for visa applicants from the countries, the administration says. That review should be completed before Oct 2, the first day the justices could hear arguments in their new term.

The ban will have run its course by then, raising a question of whether the justices will even issue a decision in the case or dismiss it because it has been overtaken by events.

The court asked both sides to address the issue of timing, along with questions about whether the ban is aimed at Muslims, the impact of Trump's campaign statements and federal courts' authority to restrain the president in the area of immigration.

A 120-day ban on refugees also is being allowed to take effect on a similar, limited basis.

AP