By Kelsey Hamlin

Following the release of President Donald Trump’s executive order popularly referred to as the “Muslim ban,” the nationwide airport protests that followed, and an emergency rally and march at Westlake Park in Seattle, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced Monday morning that he’s filing a lawsuit against Trump, the Department of Homeland Security, and “highly-ranking Trump officials” regarding the executive order. 

Ferguson calls the lawsuit broad in scope, seeking to invalidate entire sections of the executive order nationwide. The Attorney General also asked the court to schedule a hearing within 14 days.

“Never has our system of checks and balances been more important,” said Governor Jay Inslee, who joined Ferguson at today’s press conference. “I would not be surprised to see more. 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.”

Ferguson said during a press conference that Expedia and Amazon, promising testimony, would back it. These are companies that are clearly impacted by limitations on workers to travel around the globe and come back to America.

“This has damaged the economy of the state of Washington,” Governor Jay Inslee stated.

Washington is the first state to make such a decision.

“It is obviously my hope that as we go forward, other states will join us,” Ferguson said. “No one is above the law, not even the President. And in the courtroom, it is not the loudest voice that prevails. It’s the Constitution.”

Both Inslee and Ferguson expressed that they aren’t afraid of and don’t expect retaliation from the President, despite Trump’s already-established threats of cutting off federal funding to sanctuary cities, of which includes Seattle. Over the last biennium, Washington received over $23 billion in total federal funds.

Inslee additionally correlated the “Muslim ban” to the likes of the Japanese internment camps from World War II. However, the ban has elsewhere been correlated with the way America turned away refugees during the Holocaust before realizing what was going on.

“What this lawsuit is about is the fact that this is unconstitutional,” Ferguson stated. “You can’t do that. And I will not put up with it.”

During the political discourse, much was alluded to current events and poking at “alternative facts,” otherwise known as lies.

On top of the temporary stay order issued by Western District of Washington Judge Thomas Zilly Saturday night halting the deportation of those impacted by the executive order, the Attorney General also filed a motion for a temporary restraining order, seeking an immediate halt to the executive order’s implementation.

The stay order asserts that the President’s actions are “separating Washington families, harming thousands of Washington residents, damaging Washington’s economy, hurting Washington-based companies, and undermining Washington’s sovereign interest in remaining a welcoming place for immigrants and refugees.”

Also on Saturday, across the country, the American Civil Liberties Union won their case in Brooklyn, New York, and Judge Ann Donnelly issued a stay.

Like what you’re reading? Please Donate!

---

Kelsey Hamlin is a reporter with South Seattle Emerald, and interned with the publication this summer. She has worked with various Seattle publications. Currently, Hamlin is a University of Washington student, and the President of the UW Chapter’s Society of Professional Journalists. Hamlin is a journalism major at the University of Washington with interdisciplinary Honors, and a minor in Law, Societies & Justice. Find her on Twitter @ItsKelseyHamlin or see her other work on her website.

 

Featured image by Joe Mabel, licensed under GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0