Washington State AG Announces Lawsuit To Halt Trump’s Immigration Order

Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks during a hearing before Washington's Supreme Court about a florist who was sued for refusing to provide services for a same sex-wedding, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, in Bellevue, Wash.... Attorney General Bob Ferguson speaks during a hearing before Washington's Supreme Court about a florist who was sued for refusing to provide services for a same sex-wedding, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2016, in Bellevue, Wash. Florist Barronelle Stutzman says she was exercising her First Amendment rights, but Washington Supreme Court justices questioned whether ruling in her favor would mean other businesses could turn away customers based on racial or other grounds. Ferguson says the state and federal constitutions confer no right to discriminate against people. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) MORE LESS
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Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Monday that he is filing a federal lawsuit to seek an immediate halt to the implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily barring visitors from seven predominantly Muslim countries and suspending the United States’ refugee program.

“No one is above the law — not even the President,” Ferguson said in a statement. “And in the courtroom, it is not the loudest voice that prevails. It’s the Constitution.”

The complaint asks the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington to declare sections of the order unconstitutional and to keep the White House from enforcing it, according to the statement. Ferguson is also filing a motion for a temporary restraining order to halt the order’s implementation.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) said he “would not be surprised to see more” lawsuits challenging the order.

“Never has our system of checks and balances been more important,” he said as quoted in the statement. “Until Congress takes this Administration to task for the obvious moral and legal injuries suffered by innocent, law-abiding people entering our country, it is up to states to protect and promote the rights of the people who reside in our borders.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) announced Sunday that she would introduce two pieces of legislation to combat the order as well, joining several other Democrats who have said that they will propose legislation to attempt to undo the order. The odds are long that such legislation would ever make it to Trump’s desk.

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