The U.S. Supreme Court dealt President Donald Trump a fresh setback on July 19 by saying it cannot temporarily bar visitors from six predominantly Muslim countries who have American grandparents and other close relatives.
But in a partial win for Trump, the court gave the government more leeway to enforce a separate temporary ban on refugees that was included in the president's March 6 executive order.
A U.S. District Court last week had ruled against the government on the scope of both bans, prompting the administration to seek Supreme Court intervention.
The high court's decision means that, for now, people from Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen who have American grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, and siblings-in-law are not covered by Trump's 90-day travel ban.
The court's action on refugees means up to 24,000 refugees who already have been assigned to a U.S. charity or religious organization will not be able to use that connection to get into the country.
The Supreme Court said its latest decision in the travel ban case is temporary while a U.S. appeals court in San Francisco considers a separate appeal on the same issue.