US Supreme Court Upholds Trump Travel Ban

President Donald Trump had the last laugh following Tuesday’s US Supreme Court  ruling in favor of the controversial ban on travelers from five Muslim-dominated countries.

In a majority opinion written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the country’s top court ruled that Trump’s most recent version of the ban was valid. Five Supreme Court judges ruled in favor of the ban, while four dissented.

“In short, the language… is clear, and the Proclamation does not exceed any textual limit on the President’s authority,” Roberts wrote.

“The Government has set forth a sufficient national security justification to survive rational basis review. We express no view on the soundness of the policy.”

The Trump administration said the ban, which targets travellers from North Korea and five mainly Muslim nations namely; Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, is justified by national security concerns.

“SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRUMP TRAVEL BAN. Wow!” President Trump tweeted moments after the ruling.

Today’s ruling is a culmination of a fierce court battle that commenced days after Trump assumed office in January 2017. One week after he took oath, Trump declared a three-month ban on travellers from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, a move that saw hundreds of travellers blocked at the airports.

Courts in several states ruled the ban was illegal, and delivered the same judgment in March 2017, after the Trump government made amendments to the original order, leaving Trump infuriated.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which has been been on the forefront opposing the ban, termed the ruling as the greatest Supreme Court’s failure.

“This ruling will go down in history as one of the Supreme Court’s great failures,” Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrant Rights Project, said in a statement.

“We must make it crystal clear to our elected representatives: If you are not taking action to rescind and dismantle Trump’s Muslim ban, you are not upholding this country’s most basic principles of freedom and equality.”