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Photo via Franz Jantzen/ U.S. Supreme Court
The Supreme Court voted in a 5-4 decision on Tuesday to uphold Donald Trump’s travel ban, restricting persons from six majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States.
In yesterday’s decision on the administration’s appeal, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the so-called “Extreme vetting” proclamation banning visitors and immigrants from Syria, Libya, Iran, Yemen, Chad and Somalia was “Squarely within the scope of Presidential authority.” Detractors, including Justice Sonia Sotomayor, argued that the travel ban was both racially and religiously prejudiced, with citizens of the chosen countries posing no credible threat to the United States. Lead by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, GOP legislators successfully blocked Obama appointee Merrick Garland, setting the stage for Trump to appoint conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch in 2017.
Since Gorsuch took Scalia’s seat, the high court has sided with conservative leaders on labor unions, abortion rights and immigration. Unions have been leading donors to Democratic political campaigns for decades.
After Tuesday’s travel ban ruling, lawyers squaring off against the federal government expressed disappointment in the court, and called on Congress to intervene on behalf of America’s founding principles. The travel ban is atrocious policy, and makes us less safe and undermines our American ideals. Now that the Court has upheld it, it is up to Congress to do its job and reverse President Trump’s unilateral and unwise travel ban.
