Asian Americans Advancing Justice Condemns Supreme Court Decision on Muslim Ban
Atlanta, Georgia, June 26, 2018 — Today the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the Trump Administration's third iteration of the Muslim Ban in a 5-4 decision. Rather than reinforcing the notion that America welcomes people regardless of where they are born, what they look like, or how they pray, the Supreme Court instead upheld a ban, driven by anti-Muslim sentiment, that devalues equality.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice, an affiliation of five civil rights organizations, releases the following statement:
“We strongly condemn the Supreme Court's decision and perpetuation of state-sanctioned discrimination as inconsistent with our Constitutional values. This decision greenlights religious and ethnic discrimination that runs counter to the inclusionary principles to which our country aspires.
We should not repeat racist and discriminatory policies based on national origin that are hauntingly similar to the treatment of the Asian American community at instructive times in our national history. From the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 to the unjust and inhumane incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II, our country has an unfortunate history of prejudicial laws that threaten this nation's founding ideals.
In referencing the Korematsu decision, while the Supreme Court was forced to acknowledge the grave injustice that was committed nearly 75 years ago, Justice Sotomayor's dissent illustrates what we feared in that it "merely replaces one "gravely wrong" decision with another.”
Rather than learn from the lessons of history, the Trump Administration has chosen to shamefully reenact our country's darkest chapters by implementing another discriminatory policy against communities based on religious beliefs and ethnic identities. Sadly, the Supreme Court's ruling today reinforces an immoral and pretextual policy seeking to further a white supremacist agenda that continues to devastate our nation’s proud multi-racial communities committed to our core value of religious freedom.
We will continue to defend the communities affected by the Muslim Ban. Armed with the knowledge that justice eventually prevails, we will continue to challenge this discriminatory policy and fight alongside our Muslim brothers and sisters and other impacted communities whose Constitutional rights are being violated. The struggle for justice has never been easy. But together, united in the struggle, we shall overcome and will continue to resist against any attempt at a Muslim Ban.”
Asian Americans Advancing Justice is a national affiliation of five leading organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans and other underserved communities to promote a fair and equitable society for all. The affiliation's members are: Advancing Justice | AAJC (Washington, DC), Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus (San Francisco), Advancing Justice - Los Angeles, Advancing Justice - Atlanta, and Advancing Justice - Chicago.
The #NoMuslimBanEver campaign is organized by a coalition of national and local civil rights and Muslim advocacy groups who are leading efforts around the country to fight against President Trump's latest unconstitutional Muslim Ban, as well as other discriminatory immigration policies that criminalize and negatively impact American Muslim communities and immigrants across the country. For more information about the campaign, visit www.nomuslimbanever.com.