Big win for Trump as US SC allows his travel ban to go into full effect
December 05, 2017 08:45
In a major victory for President Donald Trump, the United States Supreme Court has allowed his travel ban to take full effect pending appeal, for people coming from six Muslim-majority countries.
As a result of the Supreme Court's ruling, Trump's travel ban, which restricts travel to the US by people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Chad without bona fide connections to the US, can take full effect while legal challenges proceed.
The travel ban is the third version of a contentious policy that Trump first sought to implement a week after taking office in January.
Seven of the nine judges lifted restrictions on the travel ban imposed by other courts earlier. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Sonia Sotomayor said they would have denied the government's request.
The court gave no reason for its decision, but said it expected lower court review of the executive orders to proceed quickly.
"Multiple government agencies have conducted a comprehensive, worldwide review of the information shared by foreign governments that is used to screen aliens seeking entry to the US," US Solicitor General Noel Francisco argued in court papers.
"We are not surprised by today's Supreme Court decision permitting immediate enforcement of the President's proclamation limiting travel from countries presenting heightened risks of terrorism," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said after the order.
Trump's travel ban was challenged by Hawaii and American Civil Liberties Union in separate lawsuits. They argued that such a travel ban discriminates against Muslims.
"It is difficult to conceive of a more flagrant example of discrimination because of nationality," said Indian American attorney Neal Katyal, who appeared for Hawaii.
The New York Immigration Coalition Executive Director, Steven Choi, said that it is entirely unacceptable and un- American to discriminate against people based on race or religion.
"Allowing the full enforcement of the Muslim ban will not make this country safer or greater. Nearly a year after we rallied at JFK in response to the first Muslim ban, we will continue to fight Trump's plan to turn bigotry into policy and resist this latest assault on our liberties just as we have every day since Trump took office," Choi said. -- PTI
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