The Supreme Court ruling on Monday upholds the president's 90-day travel ban on people from six mostly Muslim countries — but with limits. It allows foreign nationals to come here, as long as they have a "bona fide relationship" with a person or entity in the United States. That means students, employees and family members shouldn't be turned away. Nor will refugees connected with U.S. aid organizations. Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU's immigrants' rights project, said there's not much left of Trump's original executive order. "It really is not, I think at all, the broad ban that the President has been seeking to impose," he stated. The ACLU represented plaintiffs in the Maryland case, in which a federal court struck down the President's travel ban. Jadwat said the ban now only applies to tourists, and there aren't a lot of those coming from Yemen, Somalia or Syria. But that depends on how it's carried out. Specifically, how you define a person's bona fide relationship with their contact in the U.S. "The Supreme Court in hearing this has essentially created a brand-new legal category," said Steven Choi, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition. "And we have days, if not hours, to try to figure out exactly what that means." President Trump said the new partial travel ban would take effect 72 hours after the Supreme Court's ruling. Choi is worried that consulates and Customs and Border Protection agents at airports, like JFK, may not know how to interpret the ruling. That's why Choi and other groups are disappointed that the Supreme Court didn't strike down the ban. "This is breathing new life into the Muslim refugee ban that we thought was dead," he said. Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed. "Let’s call this what it is — this is a Muslim ban, and it inherently violates the values of this country," he said, in a statement. Meanwhile, supporters of the President's attempt to limit travel from the six countries were enthusiastic about the high court's ruling. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton called it a "major blow to anti-Trump activist judges on the lower courts" and a big victory for "our nation’s security, President Trump, and the rule of the law." Choi said he's watching to see what kind of guidance homeland security gives federal agents. Meanwhile, the Immigration Coalition has created a hotline travelers can call with concerns starting Thursday, at 844-326-4940. Travelers can also email jfkneedalawyer@gmail.com. Several legal groups said they'll help people at JFK airport if they need to, just as they did before several federal courts struck down the President's initial travel ban.
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