Supreme Court dismisses one of two travel ban cases as moot

As discussed in our Immigration Dispatch of September 26, President Trump recently issued a broader, more nuanced travel ban Proclamation to replace the March 6 travel ban, most of which expired on September 24. At the time, two cases challenging the March 6 travel ban were scheduled to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. After President Trump issued the Proclamation, the Court cancelled oral argument and directed the parties to submit briefs on whether the Proclamation rendered moot the challenges to the March 6 travel ban.

On Tuesday, the Court dismissed as moot one of the two pending cases before it. The case of Trump v. International Refugee Assistance from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, has been dismissed, and the Fourth Circuit decision has been vacated. The Fourth Circuit case challenged only the non-refugee provisions of the March 6 travel ban.

The Court has yet to rule on the other case – Trump v. Hawaii, from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. That case included a challenge to the refugee provisions of the March 6 travel ban, which remain in effect until October 24.

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