Alwaght- Muslims in the United States have condemned a US Supreme Court ruling that upheld a controversial travel ban on five Muslim-majority countries, expressing anger and fear over what it will mean for them and their families.
Dozens of people gathered outside the court building on Tuesday, holding banners and shouting slogans such as "No ban, no wall" to protest against the decision on a policy Donald Trump has fought for since his first week in office in January 2017.
The ban prevents entry into the US by most people from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, has expressed regret over the US Supreme Court's decision announced on Tuesday to allow the Muslim Ban 3.0 to remain in effect.
In a 5-4 decision, the court reversed an injunction that had -- until December 2017 -- prevented the Trump administration from using the Muslim Ban 3.0 as a basis for denying visas to foreign nationals from eight affected countries.
"The ruling sits alongside other similarly shameful Supreme Court decisions allowing Japanese American internment and segregation," said CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri.
"The Muslim community will join other advocates of civil rights to show the ban for what it is -- an illegal expression of anti-Muslim animosity," said CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas.
In a statement in reaction to the ruling, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:
"This is a setback; not the end of the road. Today, the Supreme Court made it clear that the responsibility will continue to be on the American Muslim community and its allies to push for an end to the Muslim Ban.
"The Supreme Court's decision is an invitation to inject discrimination back into our immigration system. More than half a century ago, Congress abandoned a racist immigration system that preferred some races over others. This decision is an abandonment of that milestone.
"The Muslim Ban's bigotry should have been as clear to the Supreme Court as it is to the Muslims demonized by it. Apparently, everyone but the Supreme Court can see the decision for what it is: an expression of animosity."
