FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 26, 2018
CONTACT: Clarissa Corona 213.718.0732 communications@nhmc.org
The National Hispanic Media Coalition and the Coalition Against Hate stand together in denouncing the Supreme Court's shameful decision upholding the travel ban against Muslims
Religious freedom is a fundamental pillar of United States, one which is currently under siege in today's Supreme Court ruling upholding the Trump administration's travel ban targeting Muslim-majority countries. "Today's Supreme Court decision regarding the Muslim Ban is a disgrace to our country and will go down as a sad day in our history books. We cannot be a nation that discriminates. We vehemently object to decisions that allow this administration to continue doing just that." - Alex Nogales, President & CEO, NHMC Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who dissented along with three of her peers, expressed what this decision truly means:"The United States of America is a Nation built upon the promise of religious liberty. Our Founders honored that core promise by embedding the principle of religious neutrality in the First Amendment. The Court's decision today fails to safeguard that fundamental principle. It leaves undisturbed a policy first advertised openly and unequivocally as a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" because the policy now masquerades behind a façade of national-security concerns. But this repackaging does little to cleanse Presidential Proclamation No. 9645 of the appearance of discrimination that the President's words have created. Based on the evidence in the record, a reasonable observer would conclude that the Proclamation was motivated by anti-Muslim animus. That alone suffices to show that plaintiffs are likely to succeed on the merits of their Establishment Clause claim. The majority holds otherwise by 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. Because that troubling result runs contrary to the Constitution and our precedent, I dissent.
Given President Trump's failure to correct the reasonable perception of his apparent hostility toward the Islamic faith, it is unsurprising that the President's lawyers have, at every step in the lower courts, failed in their attempts to launder the Proclamation of its discriminatory taint."
Today's decision marks yet another deep scar in our nation's history, a nation which was built and made great by immigrants. A nation that is sadly succumbing to bigotry and hate at the highest levels.
For interviews, please contact Clarissa Corona, at communications@nhmc.org or at 213.718.0732.
### The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) is the media watchdog for the Latino community, ensuring that we are fairly and consistently represented in news and entertainment and that our voices are heard over the airwaves and on the internet. We exist to challenge executives and influencers throughout the entertainment and news industry to eliminate barriers for Latinos to express themselves and be heard through every type of medium. NHMC works to bring decision-makers to the table to open new opportunities for Latinos to create, contribute and consume programming that is inclusive, free from bias and hate rhetoric, affordable and culturally relevant. Receive real-time updates on Facebook, Twitter @NHMC and Instagram @NHMC_org.
