The trump administration on Thursday filed a suit at the U.S. Supreme Court asking for reinstatement of the executive order that temporarily banned citizens of six predominantly Muslim nations from entering the United States after it was blocked by a federal High Court and the Appeal Court. The lower courts ruled that the ban was discriminatory.
Composition of the Supreme Court Justices
The nine Justices of the Supreme Court are to consider whether President Trump’s rhetoric in the presidential election campaign can serve as evidence that the order was meant to discriminate against Muslims and/ or whether it infringes on religious freedom.
The government filed an emergency application asking the apex court to quash the rulings by the high court and the appeal court that halted the enforcement of President Trump’s March 6 executive order. The order banned citizens from Iran, Somalia, Libya, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days while the administration implements tougher visa screening.
The government's appeal
The suit comes after the May 25 ruling of the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia that blocked the order.
“We have filed an application with the Supreme Court and are confident that President Donald Trump’s executive order is well within the ambit of his lawful authority in safeguarding and protecting our communities from terrorist attacks,” Sarah Isgur Flores, the spokeswoman for the Justice Department said.
The American Civil Liberties Union reacted to the development and tweeted in response “We have defeated this despicable ban and are set to do it once more”.
A minimum of five votes are required out of the nine-justice court for a grant to remain in place. The court has a roughly 5-4 majority conservative. Justice Anthony Kennedy is a conservative that sticks with the courts liberals on some of their verdicts.
Neil Gorsuch is another conservative appointed by President Trump earlier this year.
The effects of the court's pronouncement
If the administration’s emergency application is approved by the Supreme Court, the ban would be implemented with immediate effect.
The court is required to make a pronouncement within 14 days whether to grant the application or not.
Then, the Justices will determine whether to go on with the hearing of the administration’s full appeal. The apex court is to determine the importance and the fact that the application is being made by the government.
