White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday reiterated support for President Donald Trump's Muslim ban — despite a Supreme Court hearing on its merits — saying "the administration's top priority is to secure the safety and security of the American people."
"For that reason, the administration has put in place enhanced global security measures to improve screening and vetting capabilities and share information," she said at the daily briefing. "It's working.
"There has been significant improvements in identity-management and informing-sharing with foreign governments.
"Because of this, our international partners have raised their own baseline requirements.
"Without the ability to impose entry restrictions, the United States may be forced to unsuspectingly allow dangerous criminals or terrorists into the country," Sanders said.
The Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday on the ban, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy signaling support for the travel policy against several mostly Muslim countries.
The justices voted in December to allow the ban to take effect pending their full consideration.
The policy was first rolled out a week after President Trump took office.
The administration is asking the court to reverse lower court rulings that would strike down the ban.
The justices are considering whether President Trump can indefinitely keep people out of the country based on nationality.
The court is also looking at whether the ban is aimed at excluding Muslims from the United States.
A decision is expected by late June.
Sanders told reporters the travel ban was "limited to a small number of countries and a lot of Muslim-majority countries have the same abilities to travel to and from the United States as they did in previous administrations."
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