Supreme Court upholds travel ban

By Meg Wagner, Brian Ries and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 2:12 a.m. ET, June 27, 2018
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1:11 p.m. ET, June 26, 2018

Trump again calls the court decision a "tremendous victory for the American People"

President Trump, speaking publicly for the first time since the Supreme Court ruled in favor of his travel ban, called the decision a "tremendous success."

"Today’s Supreme court ruling just coming out: A tremendous success, a tremendous victory for the American people, and for our Constitution. This is a great victory for our Constitution. We have to be tough, and we have to be safe and we have to be secure," he said.

He added: "At a minimum, we have to make sure that we vet people coming into the country."

The comment closely mirrored the statement Trump released shortly after the decision was announced, in which he declared, "Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a tremendous victory for the American People and the Constitution."

Watch more:

2:42 p.m. ET, June 26, 2018

Top Democrat: Future generations will see today's ruling "as a dark stain on our history"

ZACH GIBSON/AFP/Getty Images
ZACH GIBSON/AFP/Getty Images

Representative Eliot Engel, a New York Democrat who serves as ranking member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, just issued a statement that calls today's Supreme Court ruling a "mistake" that "future generations will view as a dark stain on our history."

He added, "We look back with shame and regret on the internment of Japanese-Americans and the turning-away of the MS St. Louis — chapters in America’s story when fear and ignorance overwhelmed moral clarity and compassion. I have no doubt that history will pass the same judgment on this decision and those who supported it."

12:56 p.m. ET, June 26, 2018

New York mayor: "This ban is institutionalized Islamophobia"

CNN
CNN

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio just issued a statement strongly condemning Trump's travel ban, calling it "institutionalized Islamophobia, promoted under the guise of national security."

His full statement:

“This ban is institutionalized Islamophobia, promoted under the guise of national security. Banning people from our country on the basis of religion is an affront to our founding ideals. With this decision, the highest court in the land has sent a message of exclusion and division across the globe. As our President tries to build walls, New York City will continue to welcome people from all over the world to our shores, from all faith traditions. Our values have helped make our city the safest big city in the United States – and they are what make America great.”
12:43 p.m. ET, June 26, 2018

Senior Democrat: Supreme Court ruling just "legitimized discrimination and religious intolerance"

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley just issued a statement saying today's decision "will be remembered as one where the Supreme Court of the United States legitimized discrimination and religious intolerance."

He called it "deeply shameful" and said it "strikes at the heart of the principles our nation was founded on and the values we hold dear as Americans."

The statement added:

“Instituting a religious test and vilifying refugees seeking asylum is immoral, ignorant, and hateful. President Trump’s Muslim Ban is the antithesis to everything we stand for, and we will continue to fight against this policy and this administration’s xenophobic and intolerant agenda.”

The powerful 10-term incumbent, who is often mentioned as a possible successor to California's Rep. Nancy Pelosi as Democratic leader (perhaps as early as next year), is being challenged today by activist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York's primary.

2:43 p.m. ET, June 26, 2018

Keith Ellison predicts travel ban decision will end up in "dust bin of history"

From CNN's Clare Foran

The first Muslim elected to Congress predicted on Tuesday that the Supreme Court's decision to uphold President Donald Trump's travel ban will end up in "the dust bin of history," adding that Trump has tailored the court to "his ugly philosophy."

"Our country has gone through some ugly days. The Supreme Court in the 1850s said that it was OK to own a black person, that was the Dred Scott decision. That decision hit the dust bin of history ... and this one will too," Rep. Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota, told CNN's Kate Bolduan on "At This Hour."

"Discrimination and racism and hatred and religious bigotry is never going to be winning in the end," Ellison said.

Ellison said that the President "has his Supreme Court tailor-made to his ugly philosophy," calling it a "partisan court."

He added that he does not believe Justice Neil Gorsuch, whom Trump appointed after congressional Republicans blocked former President Barack Obama from filling a vacancy late in his presidency, is on the court "properly."

"It just proves one thing, that if you steal and rip off a Supreme Court justice, then you can try to jam any kind of nasty, racist, ugly policy down the throat's of the American people. But we're not taking it," Ellison said.

12:03 p.m. ET, June 26, 2018

Analysis: Why today's ruling is a big win for the White House -- and future presidents

Analysis by Stephen Vladeck

Stephen Vladeck, CNN's Supreme Court analyst and a law professor at the University of Texas School of Law, called the ruling a "big win" for the White House.

"The Supreme Court has reaffirmed the President's sweeping statutory authority when it comes to deciding who may and who may not travel to the United States, authority that both President Trump and future presidents will surely rely upon to justify more aggressive immigration restrictions," Vladeck said.

However, Vladeck noted that this was the third version of the travel ban and the administration made significant changes in response to lower-court rulings invalidating the first two iterations, including one issued one week after Trump became president in January 2017.

12:00 p.m. ET, June 26, 2018

Key House Democrat on travel ban ruling: The Supreme Court "got it wrong"

House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer just issued a statement that states, "I believe that the justices got it wrong."

He added, "Even if his actions have been declared constitutional, that does not mean they are right or they are in our nation’s best interest."

Read his full statement:

“I believe that the justices got it wrong in this case. President Trump made it very clear that his intention in imposing a draconian travel ban was to prevent Muslims from coming into the United States. This travel ban is part of a pattern we’ve come to see with this President – a concerted effort to close America off from the world, to retreat behind walls and shuttered borders and to advantage certain groups of Americans over others. Even if his actions have been declared constitutional, that does not mean they are right or they are in our nation’s best interest. “Muslim immigrants have been a part of making America a stronger, safer, and more prosperous nation for generations. The President’s travel ban will not only weaken our nation by denying us talented immigrant workers and job creators and limiting the opportunity for foreign businesspeople to invest in America, it will also make us less safe by handing terrorist groups like ISIS a potent recruiting and radicalization tool. I urge the President to end this ban and work with Congress to ensure that our immigration and travel system is fair and smart.”

12:13 p.m. ET, June 26, 2018

Protesters are chanting "No ban, no wall!" outside the Supreme Court

From CNN's Saba Hamedy

There is a rally in front of the Supreme Court following this morning's court decision upholding President Trump's travel ban.

Protesters outside of the court are holding signs — at least one read "Build Bridges, not Walls — and chanting, "No ban, no wall!"

Farhana Khera, the executive director of Muslim Advocates, which organized at least one of the protests, called the ruling a "disappointment" but vowed that the group would keep fighting.

"The President may have won this round but we are now moving on to next round because we know this is part of a broader battle against Trumps' bigoted, agenda not only against Muslims but all black and brown communities," Khera told CNN.
11:55 a.m. ET, June 26, 2018

Department of Homeland Security: Trump's actions protect the American people

Following the Supreme Court's decision to uphold President Trump's travel ban, the Department of Homeland Security called the ban a "critically important executive action" that takes "important steps to protect the American people."

"The Department of Homeland Security will continue to faithfully execute our country’s immigration laws and treat everyone we encounter humanely and with professionalism," the department said in a statement.

Here's the full statement: