Justice Department tells Supreme Court to drop travel ban case because it is moot
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The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday told the U.S. Supreme Court it should drop a pending challenge to the second version of President Donald Trump’s travel ban because it has been replaced with a third and substantially different one.
The Justice Department said the case is moot, report the New York Times and the Washington Post. How Appealing links to additional coverage.
The Justice Department also asked the Supreme Court to vacate lower court rulings in the case that were adverse to the administration.
The third version of the travel ban, enacted Sept. 24, differs from the second version because it is “based on detailed findings regarding the national security interests of the United States that were reached after a thorough, worldwide review and extensive consultation,” the government brief says.
The Justice Department also said the second travel ban’s restrictions on refugees will soon be replaced, making the challenge to those restrictions also moot.
The American Civil Liberties Union asked the court to decide the consolidated case because the new version of the travel ban still is based on “religious condemnation.”
The third travel ban restricts travel to the United States from eight countries, including six predominantly Muslim nations. One Muslim-majority country—Sudan—was dropped from the travel ban list, but another—Chad—was added. The third version also bans travel to the United States by people from North Korea, and by some government officials and their family members from Venezuela. The travel restrictions vary based on the country.
The Supreme Court had scheduled oral arguments on the second version of the travel ban for Oct. 10, but canceled the hearing and ordered the parties to address whether the pending case is moot. The Supreme Court was considering whether the second travel ban violated the establishment clause by disfavoring the Muslim religion and whether it violated federal immigration law.
