1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:04,666 JUDY WOODRUFF: After months of legal and political wrangling, President Trump's executive order 2 00:00:04,666 --> 00:00:09,666 banning entry into the U.S. from six Muslim-majority countries goes into effect tonight. 3 00:00:11,666 --> 00:00:16,233 Earlier this week, the Supreme Court gave a partial green light to get started, ordering 4 00:00:18,266 --> 00:00:21,266 those with what it called bona fide family or business ties to the U.S. be granted entry. 5 00:00:22,900 --> 00:00:26,800 Last night, the Trump administration laid out which connections count. 6 00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:30,366 And joining us to discuss these guidelines is Yeganeh Torbati. 7 00:00:30,366 --> 00:00:32,566 She covers the State Department for Reuters. 8 00:00:32,566 --> 00:00:34,833 Yeganeh, welcome back to the program. 9 00:00:34,833 --> 00:00:38,966 So what is the administration saying now about who is permitted in and who isn't? 10 00:00:38,966 --> 00:00:41,033 YEGANEH TORBATI, Reuters: Right. 11 00:00:41,033 --> 00:00:45,133 From these six countries, and individuals who have certain family connections, so spouses, 12 00:00:47,100 --> 00:00:50,600 mothers, fathers, children, siblings, even step-siblings, they can be allowed in. 13 00:00:52,100 --> 00:00:54,833 The State Department is counting that as a bona fide connection. 14 00:00:54,833 --> 00:00:59,466 But if you are the grandparents of a U.S. citizen, for instance, or the grandchild, 15 00:00:59,466 --> 00:01:02,766 and you are trying to get in and you're a citizen from one of these six countries, that 16 00:01:02,766 --> 00:01:05,733 doesn't count in the State Department, in the U.S. administration's view. 17 00:01:05,733 --> 00:01:09,400 JUDY WOODRUFF: And there was also a definition of business relationship. 18 00:01:09,400 --> 00:01:11,533 YEGANEH TORBATI: Right. 19 00:01:11,533 --> 00:01:15,400 So, if you are a student that has been accepted into a U.S. university, someone with an offer 20 00:01:17,366 --> 00:01:20,633 of employment from an American company, or even a lecturer coming in to lecture at a 21 00:01:22,433 --> 00:01:24,666 conference, for instance, or university, you can be allowed in. 22 00:01:24,666 --> 00:01:29,200 But if are you someone who has just booked a hotel room or a tour or something like that, 23 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:31,233 that does not count. 24 00:01:31,233 --> 00:01:34,066 JUDY WOODRUFF: And what about those people who were in the process of trying to get a 25 00:01:34,066 --> 00:01:36,166 visa to come here? 26 00:01:36,166 --> 00:01:38,466 YEGANEH TORBATI: So, any individual who has been granted a visa, those visas are not going 27 00:01:38,466 --> 00:01:40,533 to be revoked. 28 00:01:40,533 --> 00:01:42,633 They are still valid and they will still be able to come into the United States. 29 00:01:42,633 --> 00:01:46,500 But there's thousands potentially of people who had applied for visas, they were waiting 30 00:01:46,500 --> 00:01:48,166 to hear back. 31 00:01:48,166 --> 00:01:50,633 Those individuals, we're not exactly sure. 32 00:01:50,633 --> 00:01:55,100 But I think that is going to be something that now consulate officers will have to take 33 00:01:55,100 --> 00:01:58,766 into account these guidelines when they are assessing, are they actually going to give 34 00:01:58,766 --> 00:02:00,933 that visa to that person or not? 35 00:02:00,933 --> 00:02:05,166 JUDY WOODRUFF: And, Yeganeh, did the administration explain how it made this dividing line when 36 00:02:06,300 --> 00:02:08,233 it comes to family relationships? 37 00:02:08,233 --> 00:02:10,266 YEGANEH TORBATI: It seemed a little bit arbitrary from the outside. 38 00:02:10,266 --> 00:02:14,633 What the administration said today to reporters is that they looked at guidelines that they 39 00:02:14,633 --> 00:02:19,633 have from the Immigration Nationality Act, which is the main U.S. law that governs U.S. 40 00:02:19,633 --> 00:02:21,700 immigration. 41 00:02:21,700 --> 00:02:24,333 And they said that that is how they are going to assess which family relationships count 42 00:02:24,333 --> 00:02:26,900 and which don't. 43 00:02:26,900 --> 00:02:30,166 Critics, of course, say that they're still hewing this line very narrowly, they're interpreting 44 00:02:30,166 --> 00:02:34,666 the Supreme Court ban narrowly, the Supreme Court ruling narrowly, so that they can let 45 00:02:34,666 --> 00:02:36,166 in as few people as possible. 46 00:02:36,166 --> 00:02:38,666 JUDY WOODRUFF: So we know this has been subject to litigation. 47 00:02:38,666 --> 00:02:41,533 Is it expected there are going to be more lawsuits or does this settle it? 48 00:02:41,533 --> 00:02:46,066 YEGANEH TORBATI: We haven't seen people, and refugee groups or institutions like the ACLU 49 00:02:46,066 --> 00:02:50,900 running yet saying that they are going to be suing over this or filing new complaints. 50 00:02:50,900 --> 00:02:53,533 It is certainly a possibility. 51 00:02:53,533 --> 00:02:57,033 One other thing to mention is that the administration seems to be very narrowly interpreting which 52 00:02:57,033 --> 00:02:59,066 refugees it's going to let in. 53 00:02:59,066 --> 00:03:03,400 It is saying that just having a relationship to a resettlement agency is not enough, and 54 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:07,600 therefore any additional refugees that will be coming in this year will have to have some 55 00:03:07,600 --> 00:03:09,800 family relationship in the United States. 56 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:11,933 The refugee groups are very upset about that. 57 00:03:11,933 --> 00:03:16,933 They think that that violates the spirit, if not the letter of the Supreme Court's order. 58 00:03:18,966 --> 00:03:19,833 And that is something that we're going to see if there is going to be litigation or 59 00:03:19,833 --> 00:03:21,533 not. 60 00:03:21,533 --> 00:03:23,566 It doesn't seem like as of yet there's been any complaints filed. 61 00:03:23,566 --> 00:03:26,333 JUDY WOODRUFF: All right, Yeganeh Torbati with Reuters, thanks very much. 62 00:03:26,333 --> 00:03:28,166 This goes into effect tonight at 8:00 Eastern. 63 00:03:28,166 --> 00:03:29,166 YEGANEH TORBATI: Yes. 64 00:03:29,166 --> 00:03:30,166 JUDY WOODRUFF: We thank you. 65 00:03:30,166 --> 00:03:30,300 YEGANEH TORBATI: Thank you.