About a dozen people with the San Antonio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations gathered on the steps of City Hall today to speak out against the Supreme Court’s decision, upholding portions of the travel ban.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the travel ban, 5-4, confirming the president has the authority to restrict entry to the U.S. anyone from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and North Korea, along with certain officials from Venezuela.
Sarwat Husain, president of CAIR San Antonio, said the decision gives the Trump administration a green light to discriminate on the basis of religion, specifically Islam.
“This heartless and xenophobic executive order now has the court’s permission to tear up the families apart and throw families into despair, sending clear message to Muslims and refugees that they are not welcome in our country,” she said.
CAIR was joined by members of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, the League of United Latin American Citizens, and other groups.
Lydia Camarillo, vice president of SVREP, said the court upholding the ban is unjust.
“This country and this nation was built with the idea that immigrants could come and fight for religious freedom, could fight to make sure they would have a better, (and) safe community for their children and their families and yet the ban against Muslims only demonstrates that this country is not accepting its history,” she said.
President Trump has said the court upheld the authority of the president to defend the national security of the U.S.
“As long as I am President, I will defend the sovereignty, safety, and security of the American People, and fight for an immigration system that serves the national interests of the United States and its citizens. Our country will always be safe, secure, and protected on my watch,” said Trump in a statement issued by the White House on Tuesday.
Joey Palacios can be reached at Joey@TPR.org and on Twitter at @Joeycules.
