Trump’s win on travel ban

Supreme Court deeply divided

WASHINGTON: A deeply divided Supreme Court upheld President Donald Trump’s immigration travel ban against predominantly Muslim countries on Tuesday as a legitimate exercise of executive branch authority.

The 54 ruling overturned lower court decisions that struck down the ban as illegal or unconstitutional.

It hands a major victory to Trump, who initiated the battle to ban travellers a week after assuming office last year. It was a defeat for Hawaii and other states that had challenged the action, as well as immigration rights groups.

Trump called the ruling a ‘‘tremendous victory’’.

The president had vowed to ban Muslims during the 2016 presidential campaign and continued his attacks on Twitter after his election. But the court said those statements did not constitute evidence of religious discrimination.

Chief Justice John Roberts issued the opinion, supported by the court’s other four conservatives — a majority that has won a dozen 54 cases this term. He said entry restrictions were limited to countries previously designated by Congress or prior administrations as posing national security risks. And he noted it followed a worldwide review process by several government agencies.

‘‘The proclamation is squarely within the scope of presidential authority,’’ the chief justice said. He added that claims of religious bias against Muslims did not hold up against ‘‘a sufficient national security justification.’’ However,

he said, ‘‘We express no view on the soundness of the policy.’’

The court’s four liberal justices dissented, with Justices Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor reading from the dissents in court, a rare occurrence. Breyer found ‘‘evidence of antireligious bias’’ and was joined by Justice Elena Kagan.

In a separate dissent, Sotomayor said: ‘‘A reasonable observer would conclude that the proclamation was motivated by antiMuslim animus.’’ She was joined by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. — TCA