NEW YORK: The US Supreme Court ruling that upheld President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from mostly Muslim countries has triggered an uproar from human rights groups as well as immigration and religious freedom bodies from across the country.
“This is not the first time the Court has been wrong, or has allowed official racism and xenophobia to continue rather than standing up to it. History has its eyes on us and will judge today’s decision harshly,” the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said in a statement.
The ACLU added that the Supreme Court allowed the U.S. to “imprison Japanese Americans (during World War II) solely because of their national origin and ethnicity, based on empty claims of national security. “It’s one of the most shameful chapters of US history, and today’s decision now joins it,” ACLU said.
The court on Tuesday upheld Trump’s travel ban, which restricts travel to the U.S. from five Muslim-majority countries: Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia and Yemen.
The ACLU had strongly condemned Trump’s executive order, and in September of 2017 said that the policy, while updated, was still a “Muslim ban at its core. It certainly engages in discrimination based on national origin, which is unlawful,” ACLU Executive Director Anthony Romero said.
