Sen. Mazie Hirono Worries Trump Administration Could Ban Canadians Next

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 10: Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) listens to a question during a news
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) asked if President Donald Trump’s administration will bar Canadians from entering the country after the Supreme Court ruled in favor of an executive travel ban for several Muslim-majority nations.

“I’ve been paying attention to this case,” Hirono told a crowd on Capitol Hill. “I attend the Supreme Court hearing because I was very afraid of what the court might do. Sure enough — when Neil Gorsuch has the fifth necessary vote the court handed down this decision that’s going to mean — what comes next? Is the president going to say that it’s our national security to ban people from Canada? To ban people from Guatemala? From Honduras? Who’s next?”

The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the president’s policy in Trump v. Hawaii.

In the 5-4 decision, the justices reserved a series of lower court decisions that struck down the ban as illegal — giving the White House its first high court victory on the merits of a presidential initiative.

“SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS TRUMP TRAVEL BAN. Wow!” Trump tweeted in response to the ruling.

The White House called it a “tremendous victory.”

“In this era of worldwide terrorism and extremist movements bent on harming innocent civilians, we must properly vet those coming into our country,” the White House said. “This ruling is also a moment of profound vindication 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.”

More than 150 million people in Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen are affected by the ruling. Chad, also a majority-Muslim nation, was removed from the list in April.

The United Press International contributed to this report. 

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