Justices end 4th Circuit travel-ban challenge

Amy Howe on SCOTUSBlog reports on news from the Supreme Court from last night.  One of the challenges to President Donald Trump’s March 6 “travel ban” executive order came to an end for now. In a brief order issued yesterday evening, the justices sent Trump v. International Refugee Assistance Project back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit with instructions to dismiss the case as moot – that is, no longer a live controversy. The justices did not act on Trump v. Hawaii, the challenge that it had agreed to review along with Trump v. IRAP. The likely explanation for the different treatment of the two cases is that the Hawaii case challenges a provision of the March 6 order that is still in effect, but will expire later this month. This means that the justices could also dismiss that case, but even if they do, they are probably not done with the issues at the heart of both cases – whether the Trump administration’s restrictions on entry into the United States violate the Constitution or exceed the president’s authority. Those questions are likely to return to the court soon, perhaps even this term.

The Court’s order reads in its entirety:

“We granted certiorari in this case to resolve a challenge to “the temporary suspension of entry of aliens abroad under Section 2(c) of Executive Order No. 13,780.” Because that provision of the Order “expired by its own terms” on September 24, 2017, the appeal no longer presents a “live case or controversy.” Burke v. Barnes, 479 U. S. 361, 363 (1987). Following our established practice in such cases, the judgment is therefore vacated, and the case is remanded to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit with instructions to dismiss as moot the challenge to Executive Order No. 13,780. United States v. Munsingwear, Inc., 340 U. S. 36, 39 (1950). We express no view on the merits.

Justice Sotomayor dissents from the order vacating the judgment below and would dismiss the writ of certiorari as
improvidently granted. “

There have been a number of challenges in recent days to the latest iteration of President Trump’s travel ban.

KJ