After the terror attack in London over the weekend that killed that killed seven and injured scores more, President Donald Trump insisted that the events were proof his stalled ban on immigration from Muslim-majority nations needed to be implemented immediately.
We need to be smart, vigilant and tough. We need the courts to give us back our rights. We need the Travel Ban as an extra level of safety!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2017
Many people pounced on that phrasing, as the administration had repeatedly stated the ban was not a ban at all. A disconnect between the president and his spokespeople has been a hallmark of this administration, so first thing this morning, Trump clarified his statement once and for all.
It’s a ban.
People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
The initial travel ban was put in place on Jan. 27 and was supposed to be in effect for 90 days while the U.S. accessed its borders. It’s been 129 days since then.
A revised ban was issued on March 6. Trump expressed displeasure with it on Monday morning.
The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted to S.C.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
Trump still, however, wants it approved by the Supreme Court.
The Justice Dept. should ask for an expedited hearing of the watered down Travel Ban before the Supreme Court – & seek much tougher version!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
In any event we are EXTREME VETTING people coming into the U.S. in order to help keep our country safe. The courts are slow and political!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
On Thursday, the Justice Department did ask the Supreme Court to make an expedited decision on whether to hear the case, but it’s up to the court to decide if it will take up the case before summer recess.
Since it was first implemented, Trump’s travel ban, which he pledged on the campaign travel, has been halted by the courts at every turn. The ruling the administration is appealing, out of the fourth circuit in Richmond, said that the executive order violated the Constitution’s equal protection clause.
In asking for the hearing before the court, Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said they are “confident that President Trump’s executive order is well within his lawful authority to keep the nation safe and protect our communities from terrorism.”