No Muslim Ban

The Muslim ban is a symptom of a much deeper rot in American ideals, and we must take on hate to address the violence ripping our communities apart. #NoMuslimBanEver http://saalt.org/report-communities-on-fire-confronting-hate-violence-and-xenophobic-political-rhetoric/

TRAVEL BAN AT SCOTUS: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments at 10 a.m. today in a case over the legality of President Donald Trump's travel ban. In October the administration rolled out the third iteration of the policy, placing a variety of restrictions on travelers from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as well as North Korea and Venezuela. Chad was dropped from the list earlier this month after administration officials said it had met security benchmarks. 

The justices will likely probe whether the president had the authority to institute the ban, whether it aids national security, and whether it targets Muslims in violation the establishment clause of the Constitution. Even after two redrafts, critics argue the ban is tainted by Trump's campaign statement in December 2015 calling for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" until U.S. officials "can figure out what is going on." Trump's done little since entering office to dispel the impression that he wants to keep Muslims out. In November, for instance, he retweeted a series of anti-Muslim and misleading videos from a far-right figure in Britain.

Some court watchers nonetheless expect the justices to side with the administration. A federal statute passed in 1952 gives the president authority to suspend the entry of any class of foreigner deemed detrimental to U.S. interests "for such period as he shall deem necessary." In addition, the Constitution grants the president broad powers to regulate immigration. "I think this is a silly policy," said Josh Blackman, associate law professor with South Texas College of Law, told POLITICO. "But it's not my job to make these sorts of decisions, and traditionally courts have deferred to the executive when dealing with matters of national security." Read more from POLITICO's Josh Gerstein and Ted Hesson here.