WASHINGTON, D.C.-- It's the first full day the Trump Administration's long-debated travel ban is in effect. After a last-minute change late Thursday night, the roll-out of this version of the ban went much smoother than the last time it was implemented.
Just as the new ban was being put into place, the State Department added fiance's as exempt from the law. The ban will now treat them like spouses.
Under the new ban, anyone trying to enter the U.S. must show a "bona fide relationship" with a person already in America, if they are coming from six specific Middle Eastern countries.
Today, the Department of Homeland Security stressed this will not affect people who arrive in the U.S. with legal travel documents or previously-approved Visas. Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly says the ban is "not focusing on people from one religion, or one culture, but focusing on, every airport, every country around the world."
Protesters, however, were still at some major airports when the roll-out began, voicing their concern. Yarieza Mendenz was part of a protest in New York City. "Regardless of how they want to attack us and how they want to affect us," she said, "this country is for the immigrant community."
A "bona fide" relationship does not only mean family ties. Someone with proven ties to a college or a job is also allowed to enter the U.S. under the new policy.
If a person traveling from Libya, Syria, Iran, Somalia, Yemen, or Sudan cannot prove a bona fide relationship, they will be banned for 90 days. That ban extends to 120 days for refugees.
The legal battle still continues for this travel ban. The Supreme Court reinstated much of the policy last Monday, but promised to hear full arguments this fall.