5-4
In a 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court has allowed the Trump administration’s third Muslim ban to continue. I am proud to
be a boardmember for The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. The group, alongside countless partner organizations have challenged every version of the ban. Today, ignorance won. Today, many people woke up and (I hope) finally understood that elections matters.
The ACLU sent out a few key messages that I want to convey and share with you as we try to navigate the dark and turbulent times that seem to be taking our country by storm.
If you have any questions or are looking for ways to get involved, please feel free to contact us at the engagedgaze@gmail.com
This is not the first time the Supreme Court has been wrong, or has allowed official racism and xenophobia to continue rather than standing up to it. As with those rulings, history will judge today’s decision harshly.
The decision to uphold Trump’s Muslim ban is a failure of historic proportions. In 1944, the Supreme Court decision in Korematsu upheld Executive Order 9066, allowing the government to implement its grossly discriminatory Japanese American imprisonment policy based on false assertions of national security. It’s one of the most shameful chapters of U.S. history, and this decision now joins it. As more than 100,000 people were rounded up, many remained silent. It is on each of us to demand accountability and action from our representatives to ensure that our country does not repeat its worst mistakes.
It is ultimately the people of this country who will determine its character and future. In the first 24 hours of the Muslim ban, two of the defining themes of Donald Trump’s presidency emerged: His determination to stamp anti-Muslim bigotry into national policy, and the key roles of the courts and the public in stopping him.
Today, the court failed and so the public is needed more than ever. We must make it crystal clear to our elected representatives: If you are not taking action to rescind and dismantle Trump’s Muslim ban, you are not upholding this country’s most basic principles of freedom and equality.
