US Supreme's support for Trump travel ban upsets human rights advocates worldwide
5/12/17
The US Supreme Court has allowed President Donald Trump to
broadly implement a ban on refugees entering the country from around the world.
The Supreme Court justices granted on Tuesday a request from the
Trump administration to block a lower court decision that would have eased the
restrictive refugee policy and, according to the justice department, allowed up
to 24,000 additional refugees to enter the United States before
October.
The Supreme Court ruling gives Trump a partial victory as it
prepares for a key hearing on the constitutionality of Trump's controversial
executive order in October.
Mr Trump's ban, now in its third iteration, bars travel to the US by residents of six
predominantly Muslim countries - Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.
Ahead of the Supreme Court's decision on Monday
lawyers for the Trump administration had argued the policy was crucial to
protect US national security, and that it was based on a
"comprehensive" worldwide review.
Opponents in those cases argued that the
measure targeted Muslims in violation of the US Constitution, and did not
advance security goals as the government claimed.
They convinced the two
appeals courts to put implementation of the ban on hold while they and
government lawyers argued out the case.
But the Trump administration
has now secured support from the Supreme Court to move ahead with implementing
it while the appeals in Virginia and California continue.
Amnesty
International, the UK-based rights organisation, called Tuesday's
Supreme Court decision a "devastating blow".
"The Supreme Court today has dealt yet another devastating
blow to vulnerable people who were on the cusp of obtaining safety for
themselves and their families," Amnesty's Naureen Shah said in a
statement.
"They [refugees] continue to be subjected to unimaginable
violence and fear while their lives are in limbo.
"This ban is inherently cruel and no part of it should be
allowed to stand."
COMMENTS
THE
COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS, A MUSLIM CIVIL RIGHTS AND ADVOCACY
ORGANIZATION
The
council expressed its concerns about the Supreme Court decision in relations to
Islam saying it “ignores the Islamophobic origins of the policy and emboldens
Islamophobes in the Trump administration.”
AHMED
AL-NASI, OFFICIAL AT YEMEN MINISTRY OF EXPATRIATE AFFAIRS
Al-Nasi,
whose country is one of the six falling under the ban, also criticized the
Supreme Court decision. “We believe it will not help in confronting terrorism
and extremism, but rather will increase the feeling among the nationals of
these countries that they are all being targeted,” he said. “Especially given
that Yemen is an active partner of the United States in the war on terrorism
and that there are joint operations against terrorist elements in Yemen.”
SENATOR JEANNE SHAHEEN OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
Shaheen
expressed disappointment in the court’s decision. “Muslim travel ban has no
merit & offensive to our nation’s core values,” she said on Twitter.
DAVID MILIBAND,
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF THE INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE HUMANITARIAN AGENCY AND A
FORMER BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER
Miliband
said the ruling could hurt refugees who have already been vetted and were
slated to come to the United States. “The court’s decision threatens
damage to vulnerable people waiting to come to the U.S.: people with urgent
medical conditions blocked, innocent people left adrift, all of whom have been
extensively vetted,” he said in a statement. “We urge the administration to
begin its long-delayed review of the vetting process and restart a program
which changes lives for the better.”
ERIC
SCHWARTZ, PRESIDENT OF REFUGEES INTERNATIONAL AND FORMER U.S. ASSISTANT
SECRETARY OF STATE FOR POPULATION, REFUGEES, AND MIGRATION
Schwartz said he was disappointed by the court’s decision. “The
suspension of refugee resettlement will impact the most vulnerable of the
world’s populations, including refugee women and girls, survivors of violence
and torture, and refugee children, among many other groups at considerable
risk.“ he said. ”The options for organizations like ours are now limited as the
Supreme Court reviews this case.”./.
All comments [ 7 ]
The court’s decision reflected a seemingly majority consensus that the Trump administration could not implement an outright ban on immigrants from the six-Muslim majority countries.
The Court’s ruling will leave refugees stranded in difficult and dangerous situations abroad, including those who have already waited a long time for US resettlement.
Now, you could stop hallucinate about America and its advocate for human rights and democracy values. With Trump, America First!
The Trump Administration has consistently shown that discrimination, not national security, is the purpose of this ban.
No suprise to the US Supreme's decision. It's American nature!
The bans were roundly criticized as discriminatory, and courts ruled that Trump could not prevent people who had "bona fide" relationships with people in the United States from entering the country.
Even some lawyers arguing that it amounts to a ban on Muslims, which would violate the constitution's pledge of religious freedom and therefore fall afoul of US immigration laws.
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