On Tuesday, the Supreme Court upheld Trump’s travel ban from seven countries in a 5-4 ruling. This travel ban was a keystone policy for Trump’s presidential campaign. It now joins the Trump administration’s current crack down on immigration along the U.S.-Mexico border.
The U.S. travel ban blocks travel and restricts immigration from the following seven countries: North Korea, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Libya, Somalia, and Venezuela.
Lower courts have previously struck down this ban, arguing that it promotes religious discrimination and targets Muslims. However, the Supreme Court states that neither is true.
While the Supreme Court admits these seven countries are mostly Muslim, this is not an anti-Muslim ban because it does not include many other countries with a very large Muslim population.
Instead, one reason why these seven countries have been banned is due to their deficient vetting processes.
While it may not be a popular ban, the Supreme Court states that “The President has lawfully exercised the broad discretion granted to him…to suspend the entry of aliens into the United States”
Opposing this ban is Justice Sonia Sotomayor who shared Trump’s anti-Muslim tweets asking people to “Take a brief moment and let the gravity of those statements sink in” because they were from “the current president of the United States.”
Meanwhile, President Trump took to Twitter to comment on the ruling (@realDonaldTrump), “SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRUMP TRAVEL BAN. Wow!”
Some sources are unsure when this travel ban will go into affect, but political analysts say that even though lower courts previously struck down this ban, the Supreme Court has already allowed it to go into affect while it considered the case.
