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Elections have consequences. Losing the courts is probably the biggest consequence of 2018 and the one of the biggest reasons not to sit out elections.
Supreme Court upholds Trump travel ban
Supreme Court upholds Trump travel ban
Lydia WheelerJune 26, 2018 - 10:19 AM EDT
By 1,794
The Supreme Court in a 5-4 ruling on Tuesday upheld President Trump’s ban on nationals from five Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States.
In a majority opinion authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, the court said the president has broad discretion to suspend the entry of aliens into the United States.
“The president lawfully exercised that discretion based on his findings — following a worldwide, multi-agency review — that entry of the covered aliens would be detrimental to the national interest,” Roberts wrote in the opinion.
Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch joined Roberts in the majority, with liberal Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissenting.
The decision is a significant victory for Trump, who issued the first travel ban — which detractors described as a Muslim ban — just seven days into his term.
It led to massive protests at airports across the country and mass confusion over who could be let into the United States.
A series of court battles followed as the administration issued revisals of its original proposals.
The latest policy, issued by a presidential proclamation, limited travel into the United States by people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen. Chad was also originally included, but the White House decided to drop it from the list in April.
The proclamation also banned immigrants from North Korea and individuals affiliated with certain government agencies in Venezuela, but those restrictions were not blocked by the courts.
The state of Hawaii, which led the challenge, argued Trump’s now-indefinite policy discriminates against immigrants based on their religion in violation of immigration law. Additionally, they argued the policy exceeds the president’s authority and is unconstitutional because it favors one religion over another.
Hawaii pointed to statements Trump made on the campaign trail and since taking office to prove his animus toward Muslim people.
The government, however, argued the restrictions are the byproduct of a multi-agency, worldwide review of whether countries are cooperating with America’s vetting procedures for travelers and immigrants.
The ban was drafted after the first order Trump issued was blocked by lower courts and his second ban expired before reaching the Supreme Court last term. That order banned people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan from coming to the United States for 90 days and banned all refugees for 120 days.
The Supreme Court gave Trump a partial win in January when it allowed the full ban to go into effect after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the president could only ban people if they lack a bona fide relationship to a person or entity in the United States.
Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), one of two Muslim members of Congress, tweeted that he was saddened by the decision.
"Today's decision undermines the core value of religious tolerance on which America was founded," he said in a statement. "I am deeply disappointed that this ruling gives legitimacy to discrimination and Islamophobia."