US travel ban on six mainly Muslim countries takes effect
AFP
30 June, 2017, 08:45
Update: 30 June, 2017, 08:45
People take part in a rally to protest restrictive guidelines issued by the US on who qualifies as a close familial relationship under the Supreme Court order on the Muslim and refugee ban at Union Square on June 29, 2017, in New York. Photo: AFP
Washington, US: US President Donald Trump’s temporary ban on refugees and travellers from six mainly Muslim countries came into effect late Thursday, after the Supreme Court allowed it following a five month battle with rights groups.
The Trump administration says the ban is necessary to block terrorists from entering the country, but immigrant advocates charge that it illegally singles out Muslims.
The 90-day ban on visitors from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen will allow exceptions for people with ‘close family relationships’ in the United States, which the government has defined narrowly, excluding grandparents and grandchildren, aunts and uncles and others.