In response to the Supreme Court’s decision on the Muslim ban and several decisions attacking voting rights and reproductive care, Transgender Law Center executive director Kris Hayashi issued the following statement:
“Today, the Supreme Court capped off a shameful string of decisions targeting the most vulnerable in our communities by upholding President Trump’s cruel and discriminatory ban on immigrants from Muslim-majority countries. The decision adds yet another disgraceful chapter to our country’s history of targeting people because of who they are, and makes a mockery of the ideals of freedom, including freedom of religion, that we claim to uphold and promote.
As a trans-led organization with a strong legal arm, we know that while the legal system can be used to provide relief for injustice, it was built to maintain unjust systems of power and marginalize our communities. In our recent past, we enshrined in law the slavery and murder of Black people, attempted genocide of Native Americans, criminalization of homosexuality, and – in a disturbing echo of today’s decision – bans on several different populations because of who they were, including Chinese immigrants and people living with HIV.
Today’s decision is part of that legacy of injustice. Like decisions before, it will devastate families, cost lives, and further enflame violent hatred in this country – and it likely will not be the last decision of this Supreme Court to do so.
That’s why at Transgender Law Center we know we must continue to resist not only through courts and legislatures, but through rallying together, organizing, and supporting each other as we have always done. Through programs like the Black LGBTQ Migrant Project, TIDE, and Positively Trans, we must center those of us who are most targeted, including trans folks who are Muslim, Black, living with HIV, and undocumented. We must remember our history and keep fighting to protect each other.”