The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday gave President Donald J. Trump’s travel ban the go-ahead in a 5-to-4 decision decided by the Court’s conservative majority.
Alabama Republican Party Chairman Terry Lathan made a statement supporting the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold President Trump’s travel ban:
“The Constitution has clearly given a president the authority to implement executive orders,” Chairman Lathan said. “The travel ban pertaining to several countries was in that scope. This is not a policy on discrimination- it is a policy on the security of our nation. Chief Justice John Roberts was correct when he authored that the ruling was ‘squarely within the scope of presidential authority’ under our federal laws. We applaud the Supreme Court’s decision on this matter.”
Congressman Mo Brooks praised the Supreme Court ruling upholding the President’s Proclamation that restricts travel into the United States from countries linked to terrorism. The Trump administration argued that the countries on the ban have such inadequate and unreliable information that America’s security agencies cannot adequately vet the terrorism risks posed by persons from Chad, Iran, Somalia, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela and North Korea.
“I applaud the Supreme Court for finding that President Trump has authority to take such actions as are necessary to protect American lives from terrorism risks. America is safer as a result,” Rep. Brooks said. “The President’s legal authority on immigration and national security in this instance is clear. The liberal, judicially activist 9th Circuit, the most error-prone and reversed circuit court of appeal, unnecessarily put American lives at risk when it undermined the President’s Constitutional authority to protect Americans. I am pleased the Supreme Court overturned the 9th Circuit’s liberal, activist, and unconstitutional overreach. I fully supported President Trump when he issued the Travel Order Proclamation and I fully support the President’s continued actions to protect American lives.”
“Today’s decision is a win for the Rule of Law. As Chief Justice Roberts rightly pointed out, the Travel Order Proclamation was ‘squarely within the scope of Presidential authority’ and aligned with existing federal statutes,” Brooks continued. “The ‘resistance’ sought for the Court to apply an unprecedented level of scrutiny to President Trump, and I am glad to see the Supreme Court reject this irrational argument designed to hamstring the President in exercising his Constitutional duties.”
Democratic Party Communications Director Xochitl Hinojoso said in a statement, “First, let’s call this ban what it is: It is an outright attack on the Muslim community that violates our nation’s commitment to liberty and justice. Not only does the ban violate our values — it also makes us less safe and threatens our position as a beacon of freedom for the world.”
Brooks concluded, “Most notably, the Supreme Court completely rejected the left’s hokey, nonsensical freedom of religion argument that was motivated more by politics and potential political gain than rational thought. The left argued that President Trump’s Travel Order Proclamation discriminated against Muslims, yet utterly failed to properly address two key rebuttals. First, if the travel ban targets Muslims, then why did it include Venezuela and North Korea, two countries that have little to no Muslim populations? Second, if the travel ban targets Muslims, then why were so many majority Muslim countries (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and the like) not a part of the ban?”
“This isn’t the only terrible Supreme Court ruling that has come down recently,” Hinojoso said. “In June alone, this conservative court allowed Ohio to suppress votes by purging its voter rolls, upheld gerrymandering in Texas, and allowed anti-choice “crisis pregnancy centers” to continue lying to women in California. Let’s not forget: All of these 5-4 decisions are happening because, in 2016, Republicans used their Senate majority to block President Obama from appointing Merrick Garland to the Supreme Court. They stole a Supreme Court seat from President Obama — and if we let them win this November, Republicans could seal a conservative majority on the Supreme Court for decades. We need to do everything we can to regain a Democratic majority in the Senate, and we need to do it NOW.”
