The Supreme Court has officially approved Trump’s travel ban, and here’s who it will affect
Ever since his campaign, President Donald Trump has vowed to outlaw immigrants from certain Muslim-majority countries from traveling to or from the U.S. And now, the third version of Trump’s Muslim ban is official. On December 4th, the Supreme Court allowed full enforcement of the third Muslim travel ban.
Judges in circuit courts in Hawaii and Maryland had blocked a previous version of the ban from taking effect in October, arguing that the ban exhibited discrimination toward citizens of certain countries. The White House denied that the ban was prejudiced, saying in a statement that it was “lawful and necessary.”
The new ruling allows the government to ban travel by citizens of Libya, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, and Chad. The newest version of the ban also restricts travel by citizens of North Korea and some groups of people from Venezuela. Unlike previous versions of the ban, which only restricted travel for 90 days, the new ban prevents travel for these populations indefinitely. Lower courts had ruled that those who had relatives who were U.S. citizens were exempt from the ban, but the newest ruling ends that exemption.
Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor opposed the decision to enact the travel ban. On Twitter, advocacy groups and civilians alike expressed outrage over the ban’s enactment.
https://twitter.com/udfredirect/status/938068122988351489
The #MuslimBan is not about keeping our country safe; it’s about dividing Americans. #NoMuslimBanEver https://t.co/WY1Era6XhS
— Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) December 4, 2017
Seeing the muted reaction to the Supreme Court allowing the Muslim ban and I'm struck by how normalized something that's so evil and explicitly bigoted has been completely normalized over the last year. Guess this is how it happens
— Christopher Mathias (@letsgomathias) December 4, 2017
We are better than a ban based on religion. The Supreme Court has been wrong before & once again they are wrong here. The #MuslimBan has more to do w/ hateful, empty rhetoric than national security. Security requires preserving our values, cooperation & leadership, not hate. https://t.co/Gup7ZFsxAl
— Sam Jammal (@samjammal) December 4, 2017
But the fight against the ban is not over. The American Civil Liberties Union tweeted its intent to protest the enactment of the ban. And two appeals courts will hold hearings to rule on the legality of the ban later this week, one on December 6th and the other on December 8th. Both of these courts could block part of the ban from taking effect.
This is not a ruling on the merits, and we continue our fight. We are at the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday to argue that the Muslim ban should ultimately be struck down. https://t.co/17CQDxpUhx
— ACLU (@ACLU) December 4, 2017
Banning citizens of certain Muslim-majority countries from the U.S. is a measure that will encourage hate without making our country safer. Hopefully the ban will be struck down by the appeals courts, but in the meantime, if you want to combat Islamophobia, there are several Muslim organizations you can donate to. We support Muslim-Americans and immigrants, and we will stand by them to end hate.
