Rejecting 'Cruel and Discriminatory Policy,' Federal Judge Deals Blow to Muslim Ban 2.0

A federal judge in Hawaii late Thursday dealt a blow to the Trump administration, weakening the so-called Muslim Ban 2.0.

That travel ban, aimed at people from six Muslim-majority countries, cannot be used to bar entry from grandparents, grandchildren, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins, said U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson. His ruling was in response to Hawaii’s renewed attempt to challenge the ban’s scope.

The U.S. Supreme Court, as Reuters explains,

But Watson shot back against that interpretation. He wrote: “[T]he Government’s definition represents the antithesis of common sense. Common sense, for instance, dictates that close family members be defined to include grandparents. Indeed, grandparents are the epitome of close family members. The Government’s definition excludes them. That simply cannot be.”