Trump hails Supreme Court's support for travel ban

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday hailed the Supreme Court ruling that travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries is lawful and termed it "a tremendous victory" and "moment of profound vindication".

In a 5-4 opinion, the court found that Trump's executive order on the immigration restriction fell "squarely within the scope of Presidential authority under the INA (the Immigration and Nationality Act)".

"The [order] is expressly premised on legitimate purposes: preventing entry of nationals who cannot be adequately vetted and inducing other nations to improve their practices," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion.

"The text says nothing about religion." Roberts wrote, rejecting claims that the ban was motivated by religious hostility.

"Today's Supreme Court ruling is a tremendous victory for the American People and the Constitution," Trump said in a statement.

"The Supreme Court has upheld the clear authority of the President to defend the national security of the US. In this era of worldwide terrorism and extremist movements bent on harming innocent civilians, we must properly vet those coming into our country," he added.

Trump said the ruling "is also a moment of profound vindication" for his government "following months of hysterical commentary from the media and Democratic politicians who refuse to do what it takes to secure our border and our country", Efe reported.

"As long as I am President, I will defend the sovereignty, safety, and security of the American People, and fight for an immigration system that serves the national interests of the United States and its citizens. Our country will always be safe, secure, and protected on my watch," he said.

The case has been central to the White House immigration policy, presenting a key test of Trump's campaign promise to restrict immigration and secure the US borders, Xinhua reported.

Trump has signed three versions of executive orders on immigration restrictions targeting several Muslim-majority countries. The initial order, signed soon after he took office in January last year, led to days of nationwide protests and chaos at airports across the country.

The third version of Trump's travel ban barred nearly all travelers from five mainly Muslim countries, namely Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. It also adds a ban on travelers from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and government officials from Venezuela.

The lower courts had ruled that all three versions either violate federal law or are unconstitutional.

--IANS

qd