Travel ban upheld

Supreme Court rules Trump has power to enact Muslim policy

A SHARPLY divided US Supreme Court upheld President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries on Tuesday, the conservative majority taking his side in a major ruling supporting his presidential power.

A dissenting liberal justice said the court was making a historic mistake by refusing to recognise the ban discriminates against Muslims.

The 5-4 decision was a big victory for Trump in the court’s first substantive ruling on one of his administration’s policies. It was the latest demonstration of a newly invigorated conservative majority and a bitter defeat for liberals.

The ruling came on an issue that has been central for Trump, from his campaign outbursts against “radical Islamic terrorism” through his presidency. He tweeted a quick reaction – “Wow!” – and then celebrated at greater length before TV cameras.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion for the five conservative justices, including Trump nominee Neil Gorsuch, who got his seat only after Republicans blocked President Barack Obama’s nominee for the last 10 months of Obama’s term.

Roberts wrote that the travel ban was well within US presidents’ considerable authority over immigration and responsibility for keeping the nation safe. He rejected the challengers’ claim of anti-Muslim bias that rested in large part on Trump’s own tweets and statements over three years.

But Roberts was careful not to endorse either Trump’s statements about immigration in general or Muslims in particular, including his campaign call for “a complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States”.

“We express no view on the soundness of the policy,” Roberts wrote.

The Trump policy applies to travellers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. It also affects North Korea and some Venezuelan officials.