In a huge political victory for President Donald Trump, the Supreme Court issued a ruling Tuesday upholding his administration’s travel ban on travelers from several majority-Muslim nations.
Trump quickly celebrated on Twitter, using the exclamation “Wow!” and later calling it a “profound vindication” that followed “months of hysterical commentary from the media and Democratic politicians who refuse to do what it takes to secure our border and our country.”
But some Michiganders who are opposed to the policy expressed disappointment, outrage, and fear that the ruling would further tarnish America’s image abroad as a country unwelcoming to Muslims and potentially bring harm to Muslims in the United States.
“It’s a sad day for America,” said Shereef Akeel, a Troy civil rights lawyer who represents plaintiffs in a lawsuit that had challenged the travel ban. “It will send an awful message around the world that we are hostile toward a faith. The consequences of this will be long-lasting.”
The passionate responses and 5-4 court ruling reflected America’s — and the court’s — deeply divided opinions on immigration and border security, and will likely help spur voters opposed to Trump’s policies to organize and become more politically active.
In Washington, protesters expressed their outrage Tuesday outside the Supreme Court building holding various signs saying “No Muslim ban ever,” and “Stop Donald Trump’s Attack on Freedom, Justice and Equality!”
In metro Detroit, groups quickly began organizing through social media using the hashtag #standwithmuslims, and circulated flyers for a protest Tuesday evening that drew more than 100 people to Campus Martius in Detroit.
The protesters, some with head coverings and handmade signs, chanted “The people united will never be defeated.”
“We think the court got it wrong, just like it has with other decisions,” said Amy Doukoure, an attorney for the Council on American–Islamic Relations in Michigan. “We came out to show our support for the impacted communities and to show the fight is not over.
“We are going to take it to Congress.”
Travel ban controversy
Earlier in the day legal groups — including the American Civil Liberties Union, International Refugee Assistance Project, National Immigration Law Center — held a national conference call with news outlets.
The groups said they were disappointed in the court’s decision and pledged to review the decision to see whether there were options for additional legal challenges.
The high court’s ruling on Tuesday reversed a series of lower court decisions that had struck down the ban as Illegal or unconstitutional and handed a win to Trump, who initiated the battle to ban travelers a week after assuming office last year.
David Harrell, 62, of Grand Blanc said he wished that there could be free and open travel across borders, but, unfortunately, the risk for danger to do that was too great. He added that he trusts the president — regardless of party — to make national security decisions.
White Lake resident Joyce Taylor said she also supported the court’s decision.
“I am thrilled the courts are starting to back up President Trump,” she said. “We are a sovereign nation in a world full of other sovereign nations who want exactly what we want: peace and prosperity.”
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