High court OKs travel ban amid legal challenge

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court granted a request from the Trump administration Monday allowing it to enforce its latest travel ban in full pending a final ruling. The decision stayed lower court rulings that blocked the travel order. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor were the only dissenters. The travel ban, issued Sept. 24, is the third version of an executive order to block travel from terror-prone countries. The order prevents visitors and immigrants from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and North Korea from entering the United States. Lower courts blocked the order’s implementation—as they did Trump’s first two travel bans. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in November that Trump could implement part of the order, but not for travelers with family members already in the United States. A federal judge in Maryland issued a similar ruling. U.S. Solicitor General Noel Francisco appealed the decision Nov. 20, arguing delayed implementation of the full ban could cause irreparable harm to U.S. security. Oral arguments are scheduled before both the 9th and 4th circuit courts later this week to determine the constitutionality of Trump’s order. If one of the appeals courts rules against it, the Trump administration plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.