Washington, June 26: The controversial travel ban imposed by United States President Donald Trump on citizens of predominantly Islamic countries has been upheld by the Federal Supreme Court. With the order receiving the judicial nod, migrants as well as tourists from five Muslim-majority nations, along with the two non-Islamic US adversaries - Venezuela and North Korea - will not be granted visa to enter the US soil.

The contentious presidential order, imposed in January 2017, was challenged by the State of Hawaii, along with three Muslim migrants, in September last year. The petitioners told the bench that the order "violates the founding principles of the US" as it discriminates among people on the basis of religion.

The nine-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice John Roberts, ruled in Trump's favour with a grim 5-4 majority. In the verdict, Roberts said the travel ban order does not explicitly refers to reUsligion.

The [order] is expressly premised on legitimate purposes: preventing entry of nationals who cannot be adequately vetted and inducing other nations to improve their practices," Roberts wrote.

List of Muslim Countries Whose Citizens Will Not be Allowed to Visit US

  • Iran: A long-time adversary of the US, whose bilateral ties with Washington further deteriorated after the election of Trump. In May, the US President also abrogated the Obama-era nuclear deal inked with Tehran.

  • Libya: The North-African nation has seen a tremendous rise in terrorism and deterioration of the rule of law since 2011, when the US backed a military coup to dethrone the country's supreme ruler Muammar Gaddafi.

  • Syria: Trump, in presidential run, has promised to ban migrants and refugees from war-hit Syria, calling them "potential terrorists" and threat to the internal security of America.

  • Yemen: At war with US' key ally Saudi Arabia, Yemen has remained among the handful of nations in the Middle East which has drawn the wrath of Trump regime.

  • Somalia: Ravaged by a decades-old civil war, the US authorities claim there is no genuine authority in Somalia which could aid in the vetting process of visa applicants.

Despite the massive flak generated against Trump's travel ban order last year, the President had defended the move calling it necessary to "make America safe again".

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 26, 2018 09:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).