Trump’s Travel Ban Takes Partial Effect

Three days after the Supreme Court partially lifted the stay on President Donald Trump’s travel ban, the government began enforcement on Thursday night at 8 p.m.

On Thursday afternoon, the State Department released new guidance about how they will interpret the Supreme Court’s directive that refugees and visitors with “bona fide” connections to the United States be permitted to enter. But the strictness of those standards raised some eyebrows: parents, siblings, children, and spouses of U.S. citizens will be permitted to enter the country, but not grandparents, uncles, aunts, or cousins. The State Department initially said fiancés would be banned as well, but reversed that decision later on Thursday.

In a conference call Thursday afternoon, a senior administration official said that this distinction was based on the definition of family in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965.

By arguing that close relatives like grandparents or cousins do not pass the “bona fide” relationship test, the Trump administration runs the risk of having their travel ban pitched back into the courts the same week it got temporarily out of it. Hawaii filed a suit against the Trump administration in federal court Thursday afternoon, arguing that the State Department guidance ignored the constraints the Supreme Court had placed on it.

“The Government does not have the discretion to ignore the court’s injunction as it sees fit,” the complaint reads.

The official also confirmed Thursday that the State Department had finally begun to review their vetting practices and to put into place “enhanced vetting measures.”

“Even while we have this decision applying to certain nationalities, we continue to put into place advanced—enhanced vetting measures and to continue to have the interagency conversation on how to implement those,” he said. “We began that effort on June 23 and will do so with our interagency partners.”

Trump-Backed Immigration Bills Pass House

The updated travel ban wasn’t the only immigration news coming out of Washington on Thursday. The House of Representatives passed two Trump-backed bills, Kate’s Law and the No Sanctuary for Criminals Act, which would increase penalties for deported criminals who return to the United States and withhold federal money from “sanctuary cities,” respectively.

“The implementation of these policies will make our communities safer,” the president said in a statement. “Opposing these bills, and allowing dangerous criminals back into our communities, our schools, and the neighborhoods where our children play, puts all of us at risk.”

The bills now head to the Senate, which last summer rejected an earlier version of Kate’s Law.

Trump To Visit Europe to Discuss Economic Policy

After President Trump gives a joint statement with President Moon of South Korea Friday morning, he will turn his foreign policy attentions temporarily away from Asia and toward Europe.

Next Wednesday, Trump will depart for the second foreign trip of his administration, heading to Warsaw, Poland and Hamburg, Germany to discuss economic policy with the Group of Twenty, the international economic council chaired by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Trump may find the gathering less than congenial. Politico reported that European leaders held a preparatory meeting Thursday to work out how to present a united policy front when the president arrives. Trump has long irritated many EU figures with his coquettishness about U.S. commitments to NATO and complaints that other member nations don’t pay their fair share.

“Whoever believes the world’s problems can be solved by isolationism and protectionism is mistaken,” Merkel said Thursday.

National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster told reporters that Trump would reiterate both America’s commitment to NATO and our common ground with Europe during his trip.

“The president will meet with many NATO leaders, and he will reiterate both America’s commitment to NATO’s common defense and his expectation that all countries share responsibilities and burdens for that defense,” McMaster said. “We’ve seen countries strengthen their defense budgets in response to the president’s call. When we all do more, our alliance becomes stronger and our countries are all more secure.”

Reminder: The President Really, Really Doesn’t Like the Media

Given the constant stream of contempt Donald Trump has aimed at the news media over the past year, it’s easy to miss that this week has been a particularly aggressive one, even by his standards. Over the past few days, the president has attacked media corporation after media corporation: