The US Supreme Court upheld on Tuesday president Donald Trump’s ban on travel from several predominantly Muslim countries, giving Mr Trump a legal and political victory on the immigration policy issue.
The Supreme Court upheld Mr Trump’s third version of the travel ban, which generally makes the US off-limits to residents of several Muslim-majority countries. The latest ban was issued through a presidential proclamation in September 2017, fulfilling Mr Trump’s campaign promise to keep Muslims out of America. Two earlier versions had been blocked by lower courts.
Hawaii led the challenge to the president’s third entry ban on the basis he had exceeded his authority as commander-in-chief.
In a 5-to-4 vote, the Supreme Court said that the entry suspension is an act that is well within the realm of authority Congress affords presidents. Justice Neil Gorsuch, Mr Trump’s choice to sit on the court, was part of the majority upholding the president’s travel ban.
Mr Trump hailed the court decision as a tremendous victory, promising to continue using his office to defend the US against terrorism, crime and extremism.
The Supreme Court decision came as Mr Trump is facing controversy over his decision to impose “zero tolerance” for illegal immigration at the US’s southern border with Mexico.
Earlier on Tuesday, 17 states – including Washington, California and New York – joined the District of Columbia to file a lawsuit against Mr Trump’s family separation policy, claiming it violates the due process rights of immigrants seeking asylum in the US.
A federal judge in California, meanwhile, ordered the government to reunite children aged five and younger with their parents within 14 days and other children within 30 days, and barred the administration from separating any more children from their parents when families are apprehended after crossing the US border illegally.
Mr Trump last week ordered immigration and border officers to stop implementing his controversial family separation policy, which has resulted in more than 2,000 children being separated from their parents after illegal border crossings, making a dramatic U-turn after coming under fire from everyone from Pope Francis to his wife Melania. The separations involved the arrest of adults illegally crossing into the US while their children were taken away to separate government facilities.
Despite the U-turn, Mr Trump has continued to demand tougher enforcement of immigration laws. He blames Democrats for allowing undocumented immigrants to “infest” the US.
DoD Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. James K. McCann
