[T]he members of Vermont’s congressional delegation condemned Tuesday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that upholds a ban on travel from five Muslim-majority countries.
The court ruled 5-4 in favor of President Donald Trump’s order that blocks people from seven countries from traveling to the United States.
The ban prohibits most travelers from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen from coming to the country.
The policy before the court Tuesday also cracks down on travelers from two non-Muslim-majority countries. It restricts most people from North Korea and some Venezuelan officials.
Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, found that the order was within the president’s authority. He dismissed the assertion in the lawsuit that the ban was motivated by anti-Muslim bias.
Justices Samuel Alito Jr., Clarence Thomas, Anthony Kennedy and Neil Gorsuch joined the majority.
Justices Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented.
Sotomayor wrote a blistering dissenting opinion, asserting the majority opinion “repeats tragic mistakes of the past” and “denies countless individuals the fundamental right of religious liberty.”
In remarks at a lunch with members of Congress Tuesday, Trump celebrated the decision as “a great victory for our Constitution.” He said the country has to “be tough” and sufficiently vet people entering the country.
“The ruling shows that all of the attacks from the media and the Democrat politicians are wrong, and they turned out to be very wrong,” Trump said. “And what we’re looking for, as Republicans, I can tell you, is strong borders, no crime. What the Democrats are looking at is open borders, which will bring tremendous crime.”
The decision drew sharp criticism from many Democrats and advocates, including the members of Vermont’s congressional delegation.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said in an interview Tuesday afternoon that given the current makeup of the Supreme Court he was “disappointed, not surprised” by the court’s decision.
Leahy is strongly against the travel ban.
“The president made very clear he was doing this because of these being Muslim countries, and I thought we had long gone away from having any kind of religious test in the United States,” Leahy said.
The case is the latest in which Gorsuch, Trump’s nominee to the court, joined the majority in a narrow decision. Leahy voted against Gorsuch’s confirmation.
Leahy said he often disagrees with how Chief Justice John Roberts comes down, but he voted for him in his confirmation in part because he did not feel obligated to come down in particular ways on issues.
“I felt that he was not coming in there feeling that he was required to vote a certain way,” Leahy said. “I think Justice Gorsuch, it’s pretty clear, he felt he was required to and would happily.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said, the court “sided with fear, racism and xenophobia and against the American ideals of religious freedom and tolerance.
“The Trump administration’s travel ban was never about keeping America safe. We need only look at Trump’s own words to understand that this has always been a racist and anti-Islamic attempt to ban Muslims from entering this country,” Sanders said in a statement.
Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., blasted the decision as “a step backward.”
#SCOTUS ruling today is a step backwards. It goes against the very principles upon which our nation was founded. A religious ban has no place in the United States. https://t.co/9DbcGWKmLl
— Rep. Peter Welch (@PeterWelch) June 26, 2018
