A U.S. appeals court on September 7 rejected efforts by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to temporarily bar most refugees from entering the United States.

In the latest legal blow to Trump's executive order targeting refugees and people from six predominantly Muslim countries, the New York State Court of Appeals ruled that refugees who have "bona fide" relationships with U.S. resettlement agencies should be allowed into the country.

The court also ruled that grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins of legal U.S. residents should be exempted from Trump's 90-day ban on travelers from Iran, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that Trump's ban should not be applied to people with "bona fide" relationships to U.S. citizens or organizations.

The administration took a narrow view of the high court ruling and continued to ban refugees, in a move that was challenged by the state of Hawaii. The appeals court agreed with Hawaii.

The court rejected the administration's argument that written assurances provided to refugees by U.S. resettlement agencies do not constitute proof of a "bona fide relationship."

The court added that "it is hard to see how a grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, sibling-in-law, or cousin can be considered to have no bona fide relationship with their relative in the United States."

Based on reporting by AP and Reuters