FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2018
PRESS CONTACT
Henrike Dessaules
hdessaules@refugeerights.org
646-459-3081
IRAP STATEMENT ON TODAY’S SUPREME COURT DECISION
(New York, NY) – Today, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in the landmark case, Trump v. Hawaii, which challenges the President’s Muslim ban as unlawful and discriminatory. In their decision, five of the nine Judges sided with the government that the President was within his rights to ban people from certain nations from entering the country. The other four Judges dissented on the grounds that “the Proclamation was motivated by hostility and animus toward the Muslim faith.”
In fact, Justice Sotomayor wrote in her dissent: “The President’s statements, which the majority utterly fails to address in its legal analysis, strongly support the conclusion that the Proclamation was issued to express hostility toward Muslims and exclude them from the country.”
This is not the first time in history that the highest court has made the wrong decision. Allowing the Muslim ban to remain in effect will prevent thousands of people from reuniting with family, taking up studies or a job, or seeking medical treatment that would not be available to them otherwise. Beyond the effects on individuals, however, the Supreme Court decision will have far-reaching and devastating consequences.
IRAP’s Director, Becca Heller, stated:
“The decision from the Supreme Court is absolutely devastating, not only for Muslims, who are the primary target of this shameful ban, but for everyone who believes in the freedom of religion. Trump, throughout his campaign and presidency, has vilified Muslims and made his intentions clear that the Muslim ban was designed to keep them out. This decision will embolden him even more to discriminate against everyone his administration deems undesirable, as we have seen in recent weeks.”
“It is deeply tragic and ironic that the Supreme Court made their decision on this same day, on which, in 1963, President Kennedy gave his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech to protest the erection of the Berlin Wall, which prevented East Germans from fleeing an oppressive regime and reuniting with family members. With this decision, we are effectively closing our door to millions of people, and allowing history to repeat itself,” she added.
This decision will have a direct impact on IRAP v. Trump, a similar case filed by the International Refugee Assistance Project and others on behalf of affected individual and organizational plaintiffs.
IRAP vows to keep fighting the Muslim ban and its damaging consequences, both in the court of law and in the court of public opinion, which have overwhelmingly rejected this un-American policy.
To view the press release, click here.
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