A limited version of President Donald Trump’s travel ban on six Muslim-majority nations has gone into effect, following the Supreme Court removing holds on enforcement. But already there are reported legal challenges to how certain travelers are exempted.
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The state of Hawaii is challenging the administration’s definition of what constitutes a “bona fide” relationship for exempt travelers, according to the Associated Press.
The Trump administration includes familial relationships such as a parent, spouse, child, adult son or daughter, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, or sibling already in the US, as well as half and step-relationships, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told ABC News.
Hawaii’s emergency motion filed Thursday evening calls for US District Judge Derrick Watson to tell the administration that fiancés or other relatives not defined are also exempt.
Travelers with valid visas as well as vetted refugees approved for entry through July 6 will also be exempt.
The affected countries are Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The State Department officially announced that the temporary travel ban would go into effect at 8:00pm EST earlier Thursday, while that start time had also been widely reported Wednesday.
