Over the last 2 years, President Donald Trump has changed the way that we look at the law and analyze the Supreme Court forever. Between the firestorm surrounding the appointment of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Court and his own blatant disregard for the law which is still under investigation, no single head of the Executive Branch has done more to harm our sacred institutions than he has in such a short time.
Such outright disregard is not the only thing that our President has demonstrated that is less than commendable when it comes to the law. I would argue that a more lasting and altogether nefarious use of his power has come by way of the various executive orders and pieces of litigation that have been passed altogether under the radar. So many immensely childish or ill conceived thoughts are scrutinized by the never ending news cycle that it appears that desperately important facts seem to get by without us knowing. Of course, the Trump Administration’s PR team understands this and admittedly uses this strategically.
It may come as some surprise then that perhaps the most important case of 2018 bears the name of our Commander-in-Chief. Trump v. Hawaii, or the Travel-Ban case, was decided by a 5-4 majority in favor of President Donald Trump’s Executive Order No. 13,769 (EO-1). This order suspended possible entry of foreign nationals for 90 days from seven countries identified by Congress or the Executive as presenting heightened terrorism-related risks.
Unless you were living under a rock for the early days of the Trump Presidency, it is clear that this Executive Order garnered a fair deal of media presence, though I highly doubt anyone really followed up with it after it was off the news. I for one find it incredibly frightening that the power to altogether restrict foreign access to our country has was granted without the news batting an eyelash. Such powers seem to overstep the lines that we have drawn for the restrictions of power placed upon the Executive Branch.
This is not to mention the tremendous foreign policy turmoil and civil rights abuses that such a decision open the United States up to. To start, such a ban is clearly not the most diplomatic of solutions, especially from a country that has long been known as the world’s ‘melting pot.’ Further, economic policy in the Middle Eastern countries banned certainly was not in any way positively influenced by such a ban. Additionally, granting the Executive Branch the power to close our country to an entire country of people not only raises the possibility of splitting up loved ones and cutting off people in dire need of help, but it also allows for the President to discriminate against an entire country of people solely on grounds of the geographical location where they were born.
Clearly, I feel that the decision made by our Supreme Court is not one which I agree with. I agree with Justice Sotomayor’s dissenting opinion where she wrote that the majority was guilty of “ignoring the facts, misconstruing our legal precedent, and turning a blind eye to the pain and suffering the Proclamation inflicts upon countless families and individuals, many of whom are United States citizens.” I pray that such a shortsighted fate does not befall the Court in years to come as it grows increasingly more Conservative as the days pass.
I think you really grasped the whole effect of this decision and what it means for the future. Trump will only be in office for 2 or 6 more years ,but the impact he has had on the judicial branch will be felt for decades, and an increasingly conservative court will most likely continue to produce decisions like this one.
I did some research on the topic after reading your blog and at least three of the countries only face partial travel bans, while the others face rather tight restrictions on who may enter the US. I think it is important for the President to be able to take such action when necessary, as it is his/her duty to protect the nation. In this case, I don’t believe the ban was appropriate or necessary. As far as the decision made by the Supreme Court, I think it would be inappropriate to say that its ruling was unjust. Even though I do not like the outcome, I believe it is important to honor decisions made by our Supreme Court, as they are appointed by our elected President. If, in fact, these institutions aren’t properly serving our nation, perhaps it is time to change them.
I really do like this piece as it highlights how the Trump presidency has only exacerbated the executive branches abuse of power. Though executive orders have been used increasingly by other presidencies usually they do not push for very divisive policies such as these. Although most uses of the power are not necessarily benign it’s typically used so that congress does not misuse political capital . Instead you show how this is overstepping the legislative branch entirely and abusing the majority conservative supreme court.
Your blog was very informative, you obviously have a good understanding of the facts behind what you blog about. You had a good mixture of human emotion connected to your topic that allowed the facts to be grounded with real experiences. I also appreciated that you brought up a quote from the dissenting opinion as it really demonstrated how much research and knowledge you acquired on the topic. This was a good focus on the long term effects on our most permanent branch of government. It provided a stark reminder that even though Trump’s term will run out, his legacy will last for decades.