Supreme Court Upholds Trump's Travel Ban on Muslim-Majority Countries in 5-4 Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court rules 5-4 on June 26, 2018 in Trump v. Hawaii that President Trump's third iteration of the travel ban — Presidential Proclamation 9645, restricting entry from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen — is a lawful exercise of presidential authority over immigration. Chief Justice John Roberts writes the majority opinion, holding that the ban is neutral on its face and within the president's statutory authority under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f). Justice Sotomayor's dissent quotes Trump's own statements calling for a "Muslim ban" and compares the majority's reasoning to Korematsu v. United States, the now-repudiated 1944 ruling upholding Japanese American internment. Trump announces the ruling as "a tremendous victory" and "a moment of profound vindication." Civil rights organizations note the ruling cements into law a policy that Trump launched with a December 2015 press release explicitly calling for blocking Muslim immigration.