Tag

#travel-ban

Executive orders restricting entry to the U.S. based on nationality or religion. Incidents involve expanded travel bans that discriminate based on national origin, affecting families, refugees, and individuals with valid legal claims to entry.

4 incidents

Updated January 31, 2020 Civil Rights
War Crime / Crime Against Humanity

Travel Ban Expansions: From Muslim Ban to Permanent Entry Restrictions

The travel ban evolved through three executive orders as earlier versions were blocked by courts for discriminatory purpose and due process violations. The third version added non-Muslim-majority countries to provide legal cover, and was upheld by the Supreme Court 5-4 in June 2018. The Court's majority expressly declined to consider Trump's public statements calling for a Muslim ban; Sotomayor's dissent quoted those statements at length and compared the ruling to Korematsu v. United States.

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4
Muslim-bantravel-banimmigrationcivil-rightsfirst-term
Updated October 24, 2017 Civil Rights
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Muslim Travel Ban: Executive Orders 13769, 13780, and Presidential Proclamation 9645

Trump signed an initial travel ban on January 27, 2017, halting entry from seven Muslim-majority countries and suspending the refugee program. After courts blocked it, the administration issued revised versions that scaled back explicit language while preserving the core country-specific restrictions. The Supreme Court allowed a third version to take full effect in December 2017.

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5
muslim-bantravel-banimmigrationreligious-discriminationfirst-term
Updated February 9, 2017 Civil Rights
Major Abuse of Power

Muslim Ban Day One: Airport Detentions, Legal Chaos, Federal Stays

The executive order was signed without coordination with the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, the Department of Defense, or the intelligence community. Customs and Border Protection received no guidance before implementation. Within hours, hundreds of travelers from the seven countries — including green card holders, refugees, and visa holders — were detained at airports or turned away from flights. Federal judges in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Washington state issued emergency stays within 24-48 hours. The order was eventually replaced by revised versions that were also challenged legally; the Supreme Court upheld the third version in Trump v. Hawaii (2018).

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4
Muslim-bantravel-banairportsimmigrationfirst-term
Updated June 26, 2018 Civil Rights
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern

Travel Ban: Muslim-Majority Country Restrictions Through Three Iterations

The travel ban's anti-Muslim intent was documented in Trump's own public statements: before the first order, Trump had called for 'a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States'; Rudy Giuliani publicly stated Trump had asked him how to create 'a Muslim ban' legally. The first order's implementation — without agency coordination, applying immediately to green card holders, causing chaos and hundreds of detentions at airports — forced a broad injunction within hours. Courts repeatedly found discriminatory intent. The Supreme Court ultimately upheld the third version, with Chief Justice Roberts's majority explicitly declining to assess whether the stated national security justification was pretextual.

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travel-banMuslim-banimmigrationcivil-rightsfirst-term