In on the most highly anticipated court rulings this year, the Supreme Court has decided to uphold Trump’s travel ban. The court’s 5-4 ruling decided that the third iteration of Trump’s highly controversial proposal is well within his constitutional authority, according to ABC News.
The travel ban has been one of Trump’s hard-line immigration policy that’s become central in his presidency. It was first introduced just a week after he took office. The 3.0 travel ban was first issued back in September, and the ban restricts entry from seven countries: Iran, North Korea, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, and Venezuela. CNN reports that Chad was originally on the list, but their ban was lifted back in April as the country met certain security requirements.
Trump immediately took to twitter to say, “Supreme Court upholds Trump travel ban. Wow!”
SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRUMP TRAVEL BAN. Wow!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 26, 2018
Later, Trump released an official statement regarding the SCOTUS’s decision calling it a “moment of profound vindication following months of hysterical commentary from the media and Democratic politicians who refuse to do what it takes to secure our border and our country.”
The ban essentially affirms Trump’s broad presidential authority over who is allowed to enter into the US. This means that the ban can remain intact, and he could possibly add more countries to the list for “national security” purposes.
We’re at the Supreme Court right now to hold the court accountable for today’s failure and stand with Muslim communities around the world. #NoMuslimBanEver pic.twitter.com/l8k3wauvaH
— ACLU (@ACLU) June 26, 2018
A lot of these countries have a majority Muslim population, which led many to believe that the administration was targeting Muslims. According to Reuters, challengers such as Maryland and Hawaii argued that the policy went well beyond his power under immigration law as well as the Constitution.
Many civil rights groups and Democrats have condemned the controversial ruling.
“Today’s Supreme Court ruling enshrines bigotry into policy under the pretext of national security, and represents a blow to the very values this country has built on. American will not be greater or safer by turning our backs on our Muslim neighbors, friends, and family,” said the New York Immigration Coalition Execution Director, Steven Choi, in a statement. “We will continue to march in the streets, and fight back in the courts to protect the people who truly make America great.”
Justice Sonia Sotomayor believed the courts to be wrong in ignoring Trump’s previous comments on the ban, and that there were blaring similarities to the 1944 decision that upheld US internment of Japanese Americans in World War II, according to Reuters.
“The majority here completely sets aside the President’s charged statements about Muslims as irrelevant,” she wrote. “That holding erodes the foundational principles of religious tolerance that the court elsewhere has so emphatically protected, and it tells members of minority religions in our country ‘that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community.’”
The ACLU also responded to the decision on Twitter, saying that the decision will be one of the worst SCOTUS has made in history. “It is not the first time the Court has been wrong, or has allowed official racism and xenophobia to continue rather than standing up to it.”
BREAKING: SCOTUS has upheld Trump’s Muslim ban. This is not the first time the Court has been wrong, or has allowed official racism and xenophobia to continue rather than standing up to it.
History has its eyes on us — and will judge today’s decision harshly. #NoMuslimBanEver
— ACLU (@ACLU) June 26, 2018
In what is already a deeply tumultuous time for immigrants and marginalized people in the U.S., this ruling is sure to see push-back in the courts and inspire further debate.