Too early to draw conclusion on travel ban, former AG Rob McKenna says

A limited version of the Trump administration’s travel ban targeting six mostly Muslim countries will go into effect before Supreme Court justices hear arguments over the executive order in October.

KIRO Radio legal consultant and former Attorney General Rob McKenna says it could be quite the hurdle for people trying to enter the United States from one of the six countries if they don’t have much of a connection to the U.S.

However, McKenna says it’s too early to reach a conclusion on how things will pan out for the president’s order later this year.

“I think what we’re seeing here is [the Supreme Court] acknowledging that the president has a lot of power, deciding who comes in and who doesn’t,” he told Seattle’s Morning News.

Though lower courts ruled that the administration overstepped its bounds, the Supreme Court justices, in the announcement Monday morning, shows they believe the language in the Immigration and Nationality Act — allowing the president to keep people out based on national security — speaks for itself, McKenna says.

The limited version of the ban on travel will go into effect this week — 72 hours after being cleared by the courts, according to Trump. The countries on the list include Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. A person trying to enter the U.S. from one of those countries may be denied as long as they lack a “credible claim of a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.”

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

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

Three of the court’s conservative justices said they would have let the complete bans take effect.

Justice Clarence Thomas said the government’s interest in preserving national security outweighs any hardship to people denied entry into the country, The Associated Press reports.

Two federal appeals courts blocked the travel policy earlier this year.

Trump’s first attempt at a travel ban applied to travelers from the six countries as well as Iraq. It caused an uproar and a judge blocked it eight days later.

In March, Trump issued a narrower order that he believes will win in court.

Listen to the entire interview here.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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