Nationwide protests erupt after Supreme Court upholds Trump’s travel ban

Demonstrations in response to Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies are being prepared across the country and overseas

Protests erupt after Donald Trump's travel ban on several Muslim-majority nations is upheld by the US Supreme Court (Getty)

Protests are being quickly organised in response to the US Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Donald Trump’s travel ban on several Muslim-majority nations, with demonstrations scheduled in major cities across the country.

The Court’s decision allows travel restrictions to remain in place against Syria, Iran, Yemen, Libya and Somalia, as well as limited sanctions against Venezuela and North Korea. Mr Trump’s third iteration of his travel ban had already been in effect since December 2017, after the justices allowed its implementation as litigations continued.

Progressive and religious organisations released statements calling for public resistance against the travel restrictions almost immediately after the Supreme Court’s decision was announced. A coalition of nearly 24 advocacy groups arrived outside of the Supreme Court for a demonstration on Tuesday afternoon, including Islamic organisations like the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), the Justice for Muslims Collective and the Muslim Public Affairs Council. Other civil rights groups also joined the protest, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Public Citizen

The Southern-based leadership development group Project South planned a demonstration for Tuesday night at the federal building in Atlanta. "Unfortunately, it’s official," the organisation wrote on Twitter. "The SCOTUS just setback the progress of our nation by upholding a hateful #MuslimBan, 5-4 vote. Join us in protest at 6pm, at the Russell Federal Bldg in Atlanta. We will not tolerate hate!"

Linda Sarsour, Muslim advocate and one of the organisers behind the historic Women’s March, slammed the Supreme Court for taking "the side of Trump and his white supremacist administration" in a Facebook post calling for a protest in New York City’s Foley Square on Tuesday night.

"They decided in favor of xenophobia," she wrote. "Another dark stain on our country’s history. Meet me at Foley Square at 6pm."

The Women’s March will host a "day of action" outside of Baltimore City Hall in Maryland on Wednesday beginning at 6 p.m., joined by CAIR, the state’s ACLU and several other groups. The demonstration’s Facebook page calls for participants to engage “nonviolently and in accordance with the law, to work to de-escalate confrontations with others, and to obey the orders of authorized event marshals and of law enforcement.”

Protests also appear to be forming in states like Minneapolis, where the Anti-War Committee and CAIR have come together for a planned demonstration outside of the federal courthouse building on Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

“We are outraged that the U.S. Supreme Court is again using the pretext of ‘national security’ to justify another racist U.S. policy,” Tacy Molm, a member of the Minneapolis Anti-War Committee, said in a statement. ”It is imperative that we take to the streets tonight – just like we did when Trump first issued his racist Muslim ban – to say NO to Trump’s policies of escalating wars in places like Somalia and Syria while at the same time demonizing and banning people that flee the results of these U.S. wars.”

Demonstrations in response to Mr Trump’s hard-line immigration policies have already been planned for his upcoming visit to Britain in mid-July, and could likely be exacerbated by the Supreme Court’s recent decision. At least 30 rallies occurred throughout the UK last year after the White House’s initial travel ban went into effect.

One march in London is set to take place during Mr Trump’s 13 July arrival, titled Together Against Trump, where an estimated 100,000 people are expected to attend.