WASHINGTON: The US Supreme Court on Monday partially reinstated Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban targeting citizens from six predominantly Muslim countries, prompting the president to claim a victory for national security. Trump had suffered a series of judicial defeats over the ban, with two federal appeals courts maintaining injunctions on it by arguing that his executive order discriminated against travelers based on their nationality. The judges “essentially adopted a middle course” between the government’s request to uphold Trump’s order and the ACLU’s appeals to stay the ban, he told AFP. The original measure, issued by executive order in January and almost immediately blocked by the courts, also included Iraq and an indefinite ban on Syrian refugees. Earlier this month, Trump said in a presidential memorandum that the travel ban could be expected to go into effect within 72 hours of relevant court rulings.

Source: Manila Times June 26, 2017 21:22 UTC