Washington, D.C. — Today, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals became the latest court to recognize the discriminatory intent behind the Trump administration’s Muslim and refugee ban, striking it down as unlawful. This comes just a week after President Donald Trump stated that his executive order restricting travel from six Muslim-majority countries was indeed a ban, in direct contradiction to his administration’s legal arguments. Tom Jawetz, Vice President of Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement upon learning the news:
The narrow ruling issued by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals—which closely tracks the statutory authorities cited by President Trump in support of his Muslim and refugee ban—strikes a devastating blow to his discriminatory executive order. The federal courts remain unanimous that the Muslim ban, even the “watered-down” version, in Trump’s words, is unlawful. The revised executive order is still a ban on Muslims and refugees. Excluding entire categories of people from entering the country is offensive to our values as a nation, and it makes Americans less safe by emboldening our enemies and disheartening our allies.
So far, the courts have acted as a check on the president and his discriminatory policies, but Trump has the chance to fill a record number of judicial seats with like-minded individuals that share his worldview. The Senate should demand to know whether Trump’s judicial nominees would be a rubber stamp for the president’s discriminatory policies. As the Supreme Court considers whether to review the 4th Circuit’s ruling to halt the Muslim ban—and whether to issue an extraordinary stay of that ruling pending review, which would reinstate the discriminatory ban—the need for an independent judiciary has never been clearer.
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