Groups ask DHS for guidance on Trump’s travel ban

Immigration advocates are urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to issue guidance on how the government intends to implement the part of President Trump’s travel ban that the Supreme Court reinstated on Monday.

In a letter Wednesday, Muslim Advocates, the Southern Poverty Law Center and Americans United for Separation of Church and State asked the DHS for guidance in the next 48 hours on how affected individuals can apply for waivers and what qualifies as a “bona fide relationship” with a person or entity in the United States.

{mosads}The Supreme Court reinstated the ban on travelers from six predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. for 90 days, but crafted an exemption that allows people with a “bona fide” relationship to enter the country.

The six affected countries are Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

Though the Supreme Court provided a few examples of how a bona fide relationship could be established — through a close familial relationship, a worker who has accepted an offer of employment from an American company, or a lecturer invited to address an American audience — the groups said they need to know how people can prove that a relationship is “bona fide” and what recourse there is if they are denied by the federal government. 

“For affected individuals from the six countries who cannot establish a bona fide relationship with a United States person or entity, the waiver process set forth in section 3 of the Executive Order is now the only way to gain entry into the United States or to have their refugee applications processed,” they said. 

“It is therefore critical for these individuals affected by the ban and for organizations that assist them to have meaningful information on how the waiver process will work.”

In addition to the letter, the groups sent the DHS and the Department of State a Freedom of Information Act request for additional information about how the federal government intends to implement the case-by-case waiver provisions of the travel ban.