Limited Supreme Court Order Keeps Muslim Ban Blocked for Many

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2017

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Limited Supreme Court Order Keeps Muslim Ban Blocked for Many

WASHINGTON — Today the U.S. Supreme Court granted, in part, the Trump administration’s request to allow some provisions of its Muslim ban to go into effect immediately. The Court will allow the ban to be applied only to individuals with no connection to any person or entity in the U.S.

Lifting of any part the nationwide injunction on the ban contradicts multiple major court rulings from across the country, which have consistently blocked it, finding it both unconstitutional and in violation of antidiscrimination provisions in federal law. Both the Ninth and Fourth Circuit Courts of Appeal recently ordered that the great majority of the ban remain blocked.

This is the first time that new portions of the ban will be in effect since the 30-hour period after Trump signed his first Muslim-ban executive order on January 28.

Today the Supreme Court also granted the administration’s request that the Court review the two major legal challenges to the president’s Muslim ban, Trump v. International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) and Trump v. Hawaii. The court has consolidated the two cases for oral argument to be heard in the first session of its October 2017 term.

The National Immigration Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union are challenging the Muslim ban in the case, Trump v. IRAP, on behalf of IRAP, HIAS, the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), and several individuals directly impacted by the ban.

Allowing the Muslim ban to proceed raises immediate constitutional concerns. Karen Tumlin, legal director of the National Immigration Law Center, issued the following statement:

“The Supreme Court’s decision to allow some of the Muslim ban to go into effect undermines the values we hold so dear as a nation. We remember the chaos that gripped our country when the ban first went into effect, separating loved ones — and we remember how we mobilized and came together to fight back. Our fight continues now at the High Court, and our fight continues in the streets, in the airports, and at our nation’s capitol.  Given the number of lives at stake, we urge the Court to hear the case quickly.

“Despite this setback, we are still counting on the Supreme Court to affirm what the American people have continued to make so clear: There is no place in this country for any policy that attempts to discriminate and divide us based on how we pray, what we look like, or where we come from.

“Americans across the country believe the Muslim ban is reprehensible at its core, discriminatory in its intent, and at total odds with who we are as a nation. Since the High Court is the ultimate arbiter of justice in the U.S., we believe it ultimately will agree with us.”

Mark Hetfield, HIAS president and CEO, gave the following statement:

“The Supreme Court order today is mixed news for human rights, for refugees, and for those noncitizens whom President Trump is trying to ban from the United States based solely on their place of birth. HIAS welcomes the ruling as an affirmation that the president does not have unfettered, unchecked authority to bar refugees from the U.S. without evidence to justify such action, and that people with ties to the U.S. can continue to enter. We are very disappointed, however, that others will continue to be arbitrarily excluded and that the executive order has been resurrected to once again cause irreparable damage to refugees, immigrants, and America’s reputation as a welcoming country.”

Becca Heller, director of the International Refugee Assistance Project, gave the following statement:

“We hope that the Supreme Court will ultimately uphold the ruling of judges across the country and declare the travel ban unconstitutional and discriminatory in nature. When the first order went into effect, tens of thousands of Americans showed the world that this is not who we are and not what we want. We will never give up defending the rights of those who are affected by this discriminatory executive order.”

Beth Baron, president of the Middle East Studies Association, gave the following statement:

“MESA stands alongside fellow plaintiffs in our fight against Muslim Ban 2.0. The Fourth Circuit’s ruling upholds the fundamental principle that protects all of us from government condemnation of our religious beliefs. We will keep fighting for the rights of Muslim Americans and immigrants across the country, and for the Constitution that protects us all.”

Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, gave the following statement:

“President Trump’s Muslim ban violates the fundamental constitutional principle that government cannot favor or disfavor any one religion. Courts have repeatedly blocked this indefensible and discriminatory ban. The Supreme Court now has a chance to permanently strike it down.”

Today’s order is available at https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Trump-v-IRAP-cert-and-partial-stay-2017-06-26.pdf.

More information about this case is available at www.nilc.org/irap-v-trump/.

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