On February 9, 2017 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a unanimous (per curiam) order denying the Federal Government's emergency motion for a stay of the district court order temporarily enjoining enforcement of the travel restrictions imposed by Executive Order 13769. This Executive Order (1) suspends the entry to the U.S. of aliens from seven countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen) for 90 days, (2) suspends the United States Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days, and (3) suspends indefinitely the entry of all Syrian refugees.
The countrywide temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by Judge Robart of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington, which does not include an expiration date, remains in effect and individuals targeted by the order remain free to travel until further notice. However, if the travel ban is reinstituted while individuals subject to the Executive Order are outside of the country, they may not be able to return. The case of Washington v. Trump, in which the TRO was issued, remains pending.
For more details about the Executive Order and the case of Washington v. Trump, please see Hogan Lovells alerts published on January 30, 2017 and February 6, 2017.
