More States File Lawsuits Against Trump’s New Travel Ban

More U.S. states are filing their own legal challenges against President Donald Trump’s newly revised travel ban.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said he will ask the same judge who issued an injunction against the original travel ban to confirm that that injunction also applies to similar portions of the new executive order.

“The revised executive order does narrow the scope of who is impacted by it, but that does not mean it has cured its constitutional problems,” Ferguson told The Seattle Times at a news conference.

Meanwhile, a judge has granted Oregon’s request to join the lawsuit against the new ban. Minnesota, New York and Massachusetts have also joined the legal challenge.

The latest lawsuits come after Hawaii became the first state to file a lawsuit to stop the revised travel ban. Attorneys for the state filed a lawsuit against the executive order Wednesday in federal court in Honolulu.

In response to the new policy, the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) has said that it is waiting to see how the policy will impact U.S. travel agents. In a recent press call ASTA SVP Government and Industry Affairs Eben Peck said, “I think we’re going to look at letting the dust from both bans settle a bit. Maybe a few months out we can get a read on this — is this having a real impact or are people just having an emotional reaction?”

ASTA President and CEO Zane Kerby said that the organization would continue to “monitor the situation closely with an eye toward any impact on our members’ businesses, and will do everything possible to ensure member are kept up to date, able to serve their clients and prepare them for any disruptions that might occur.”

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), meanwhile, has released a poll showing that nearly four in 10 (37 percent) of its U.S. business travel agents expect “some level of reduction” in their company’s travel because of the new order.

The revised executive order bans travel from six Muslim-majority countries -- Iran, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan and Libya – dropping Iraq, which was part of the original ban. The new order also suspends the United States’ refugee program for 120 days, and lowers the cap on refugees from 110,000 to 50,000 per year.

Other changes: travelers from the affected countries who are legal permanent residents of the United States, dual nationals who use a passport from another country and those who have been granted asylum or refugee status are exempt from the new order. Additionally, current visa holders will be able to get into the country, although those whose visas expire will have to reapply.

Keep an eye on all the latest updates on the travel ban and its impact on the travel industry on our dedicated news page.