WASHINGTON—On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court decidedthe case of Trump v. Hawaii, which involves a challenge to PresidentDonald Trump's Proclamation No. 9645 restricting travel from severalpredominantly Muslim-majority countries. The Supreme Court in a 5-4ruling upheld the travel ban.

Bishop Joe S. Vásquez of Austin, chair of the U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Migration, and ArchbishopJoseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, chair of the USCCB Committee for ReligiousLiberty, issued the following joint statement:

"The travel ban targets Muslims for exclusion, whichgoes against our country's core principle of neutrality when it comes to peopleof faith. We are disappointed in the Court's ruling because it failed totake into account the clear and unlawful targeting of a specific religious groupby the government. The Catholic Church takes a strong stand againstreligious discrimination, and we will continue to advocate for the rights ofpeople of all faiths, as well as serve migrants and refugees through ourvarious ministries."

The USCCB, Catholic Charities USA, andCatholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) filed a friend-of-the-courtbrief before the Supreme Court advocating that the travel ban be struck down asa violation of the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. The fulltext of the brief is available online: http://www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/amicus-briefs/upload/usccb-scotus-amicus-brief-20180330-as-filed.pdf

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Keywords: U.S. Conference of CatholicBishops, USCCB, Trump v. Hawaii, Bishop Joe S. Vásquez, Archbishop Joseph E.Kurtz, Migration Committee, Religious Liberty Committee, Supreme Court of theUnited States (SCOTUS), Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Legal ImmigrationNetwork (CLINIC), U.S. Constitution, First Amendment, Free Exercise Clause,travel ban, Muslim ban, Proclamation No. 9645

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