The American leader, Donald Trump, seems to be in the good books of the country’s apex court. In what is obviously a victory for him, the US Supreme Court decided on Wednesday to allow his latest travel ban to remain in force while the legal fight continues in the lower courts.
Seven of the justices ruled in favor of the administration while two – Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor – said the partial stay on the ban should continue. The court did not give a reason for its decision. The travel ban – the third one Trump has issued – bars most travelers from eight countries – Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen. Six are Muslim-majority nations.
Lower court judges in Maryland and Hawaii had blocked the ban from being enforced. The court’s decision essentially throws out a compromise that exempted foreign nationals who have credible claims of a bona fide relationship with someone in the United States. That includes grandparents, brothers- and sisters-in-law, aunts, uncles and cousins.
Lawyers for the state of Hawaii argued there was no reason for the Supreme Court to enter the case at this time because the Court had already acknowledged that some travelers from the eight countries can be safely vetted and get visas.
A lawyer for the Trump administration argued that some foreign governments are deficient in sharing information about those seeking US visas, posing a possible risk to the US. White House Deputy Press spokesman, Hogan Gidley said the Supreme Court decision is not surprising because it is “essential to protecting our homeland.”
But the Council on American-Islamic Relations again called the travel ban a Muslim ban. “The Supreme Court’s actions today are a good reminder that we can’t simply rely on the courts to address the Trump administrations’ efforts to marginalize Muslims and other minorities,” the Council’s attorney, Gadeir Abbas, said.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments for and against President Trump’s travel ban as soon as the issue has made its way through the lower courts.
