The Supreme Court’s Green Light to Discriminate
By upholding President Trump’s travel ban, the justices have sent the message that the administration is free to turn prejudice into public policy.
For years, Chief Justice John Roberts has been concerned with the question of prejudice. But it’s not bigotry toward his fellow Americans that has occupied his thoughts—it’s attempts to address the bigotry.
As a young attorney in the Reagan Justice Department, Roberts to ban practices that had the effect of discriminating against black voters, and not just those that exhibited such intent, raised “grave constitutional questions.” As chief justice, Roberts asked during , which targeted states with a demonstrated record of discrimination for heightened review, “Is it the government’s submission that the citizens of the
