Virginia’s Democratic attorney general filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging President Trump’s executive order temporarily blocking entry to the U.S. for travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries and all refugees.
“Today I am bringing legal action on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia against President Donald Trump and his administration for the unconstitutional and unlawful executive order of January 27, 2017,” Mark R. Herring said in a statement.
“The Commonwealth has substantial interests justifying its intervention, and make no mistake, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and our people, are already being harmed by this Executive Order,” he added. "This order is unlawful, unconstitutional and un-American, and action is required.”
Herring said Virginia has numerous students at its colleges and universities affected by Trump’s executive action Friday.
The state attorney general added that Virginia business employees, professors and researchers had also been negatively impacted by the measure.
“We have been working around the clock since Friday to examine this Executive Order before reaching this conclusion,” Herring said.
“This is not an action I take lightly, but it is one I take with confidence in our legal analysis, and in the necessity of intervening to both protect the Commonwealth’s own sovereign interests and vindicate its residents’ civil rights.”
Virginia has filed a motion to intervene in Aziz v. Trump, a lawsuit in the state’s Eastern District against the president’s order.
Virginia joins Massachusetts, New York and Washington in taking major legal action against the Trump administration over the order.
Trump signed an executive order Friday imposing a 90-day ban on entries from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The measure also halts general refugee admissions into the U.S. for 120 days, adding an indefinite pause on Syrian refugees.
Trump’s decision has sparked global debate, with Democrats and human rights groups arguing it is unconstitutional and biased against Muslims.
The president has countered that the measure is about protecting Americans from terrorism.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/317213-virginia-ag-sues-trump-admin-over-travel-ban
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