by Donald Wood
Last updated: 10:45 AM ET, Tue December 5, 2017
The United States Supreme Court announced Monday night President Donald Trump's latest travel ban will go into full effect immediately.
According to Reuters.com, the Supreme Court lifted lower court rulings that blocked portions of President Trump's travel ban, despite two justices voting against the measure. The legislation impacts residents of Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.
The U.S. government will now fully enforce the restrictions on visa applicants originally announced in late September. Initial court rulings stated specified family members of people in the U.S. would be exempt, but that has also been reversed.
The Supreme Court will revisit the exemption of close family members when lawsuits brought by Hawaii and the International Refugee Assistance Project are expected to reach the high court early next year.
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor went on record saying the family exemptions should have been left in place while the appeals make their way through the court system. The entire Supreme Court revealed it could find the restrictions unconstitutional at a later time, though.
"The proclamation is lawful and essential to protecting our homeland," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said. "We look forward to presenting a fuller defense of the proclamation as the pending cases work their way through the courts."
While many Republicans agree with the court's decision, ACLU lawyer Omar Jadwat and other human rights activists have stepped forward to stand against the President and his latest travel ban.
"President Trump's anti-Muslim prejudice is no secret - he has repeatedly confirmed it, including just last week on Twitter," Jadwat told Reuters. "It's unfortunate that the full ban can move forward for now, but this order does not address the merits of our claims. We continue to stand for freedom, equality and for those who are unfairly being separated from their loved ones."
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