The Latest: Conservative group hails Supreme Court decision

DETROIT (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries. (all times local):

11:35 a.m.

A conservative group that supports tighter immigration policies is heralding a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform tweeted Tuesday that, “The Supreme Court’s travel ban decision is a great victory for the security of the American people and the rule of law.”

The group added that, “Congress has delegated to the president clear, unambiguous authority to suspend the entry of aliens into the United States.”

FAIR says it fights for “a stronger America with controlled borders, reduced immigration and better enforcement.”

___

11:25 a.m.

An Alabama-based civil rights law organization says it’s disappointed with the Supreme Court decision upholding President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries, calling the policy “a hateful and discriminatory Muslim ban.”

Heidi Beirich is director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project. She says that in crafting the policy, the Trump administration relied on “misinformation from a hate group – the Center for Security Policy – which uses demonizing and false rhetoric to vilify Muslims in the U.S. and create a climate of fear.”

Beirich says the administration has ramped up anti-Muslim hate. She says anti-Muslim hate groups and hate crimes have increased during Trump’s presidency.

She insisted that, “Immigration policy should never be decided based on race or religion.”

___

11:10 a.m.

Hawaii’s former attorney general, who led his state’s challenge to President Donald Trump’s travel ban last year, is voicing pain over the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding the ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries — but he says he has hope, too.

Doug Chin, now the state’s lieutenant governor, says in a statement that, “I hurt today for Hawaii families and others who have experienced discrimination and scapegoating due to President Trump’s bullying remarks and orders.”

But he added, “I am fortified, however, by the spirit of all those who came before us and struggled for the American dream. The path to civil rights does not always come quickly, but I have faith in humanity and believe justice will eventually prevail.”

___

11 a.m.

An Islamic rights group says the Supreme Court’s decision upholding President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries is “not the end of the road,” but a step toward electing a new Congress that will take the nation in a different direction.

Wilfredo Ruiz is a Florida spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations. He says opponents of the ban “will now look to counteract it in November by electing “a Congress that has different mentality on immigration and civil rights.”

Ruiz says the majority on the high court “chose to ignore Trump’s animus toward Muslims by ignoring statements during the 2016 campaign calling for a ban on their immigration.”

He adds that, “His bigotry should have been as clear to the Supreme Court as it was to Muslims.”

___

10:50 a.m.

A civil rights attorney is expressing extreme disappointment in a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding President Donald Trump’s ban on travel from several mostly Muslim countries.

In a statement emailed to The Associated Press, American Civil Liberties Union attorney Lee Gelernt says it’s a situation “in which there is a complete disconnect between the court’s decision and what the American people know as a matter of common sense …”

The court on Tuesday rejected a challenge that the policy discriminated against Muslims or exceeded the president’s authority.

Gelernt says it’s clear “that the president for political reasons chose to enact a Muslim ban despite national security experts, both Democrat and Republican” who counseled against it.

He says it’s “too early to know exactly what our next steps are.”