Today, the Supreme Court issued its decision in the travel ban case, upholding the ban in a 5-4 decision by the Chief Justice, with Justices Breyer, Kagan, Sotomayor and Ginsburg dissenting.
The countries affected by the ban are Iran, Libya, Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Venezuela and North Korea. The travel restrictions, which have been in effect since December 4, 2017, are described here.
In its opinion the court found that the order is "squarely within the scope of Presidential authority" and that the government has "set forth a sufficient national security justification to survive rational basis review." Read the Court’s full opinion here.
Columbia’s amicus brief is cited in both dissenting opinions. Justice Sotomayor highlights the negative effects of the ban on higher education, healthcare, and the country’s economy, among other things. Justice Breyer focuses on the ‘window dressing” that is the “waiver” process that is supposed to be available under the ban, but in practice has not been fully applied.
Following the court’s decision, Columbia issued this statement by the Office of University Life, which includes the following:
"...we reiterate Columbia’s fundamental commitment to welcoming students, faculty and staff from around the world. As President Bollinger has said on many occasions, orders that restrict immigration in this way are damaging to America’s leadership in higher education, and contrary to our nation’s core values and founding principles. Both in our own community and nationwide, these types of orders restrict the exchange of ideas and reinforce deeply harmful and dangerous stereotypes."
News Coverage:
New York Times
Washington Post
National Public Radio (NPR)
BBC
"The Daily": NYT 20-minute audio analysis of the Supreme Court decision
