PROGRESS

Judge Expands List of Relatives Exempt From Trump’s Travel Ban

To include grandparents, cousins, nieces, and nephews.

A federal judge in Hawaii has expanded the list of family relationships that exempt citizens of six predominantly Muslim countries from President Trump’s travel ban. U.S. District Judge Derrick Watson ruled Thursday that the ban would not apply to grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins of people in the U.S. Watson’s ruling shows a significant expansion of “close family relationship” as defined by Trump’s White House. The Trump administration has said family relationships that warrant an exemption include parents, spouses, fiancés, sons, daughters, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, or siblings. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last month that citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen who can prove a “bona fide” relationship with a U.S. citizen can be exempt from Trump’s 90-day travel ban.