Trump travel ban can be enforced, says US Supreme Court

The US Supreme Court has ruled that Donald Trump’s ban on travellers from six Muslim-majority countries and two others can go into full effect, even as legal challenges against the executive order continue in several states.

The ban means that the US can refuse entry visas to travellers from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, as well as North Korea and Venezuela.

“The ruling does not mean that the Supreme Court has accepted the ban as constitutional, but that it finds persuasive the Trump administration’s argument that an emergency injunction against the ban was unnecessary,” The Guardian reports.

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US Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the ruling "a substantial victory for the safety and security of the American people".

“The Constitution gives the President the responsibility and power to protect this country from all threats foreign and domestic, and this order remains vital to accomplishing those goals,” Sessions said.

Omar Jadwat, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Immigrants’ Rights Project said he was disappointed by the court’s decision.

“President Trump’s anti-Muslim prejudice is no secret - he has repeatedly confirmed it, including just last week on Twitter,” Jadwat told The Washington Post. “We continue to stand for freedom, equality, and for those who are unfairly being separated from their loved ones.”