Today, Attorney General Peter F. Kilmartin joined a coalition of 16 Attorneys General in filing a new amicus brief opposing President Trump's third travel ban.
The amicus brief, filed in support of the plaintiffs in IRAP v. Trump, urges the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to affirm the nationwide preliminary injunction against the third travel ban issued by a Maryland district court. The district court's injunction prevents the Trump Administration from implementing the third ban against individuals from six predominantly Muslim countries who have a bona fide relationship with a person or entity in the United States.
"We will continue to file our opposition to Trump's ill-conceived and unconstitutional travel ban at each legal step until it reaches the Supreme Court," said Attorney General Kilmartin.
The brief was filed by the Attorneys General of New York, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and the District of Columbia.
The brief, like previous ones filed by the same coalition, details the numerous serious and irreparable harms the States have faced as a result of the Trump Administration's travel bans, which could very well now be permanent due to the indefinite nature of this third ban.
"Like its predecessors, the Proclamation's entry ban gravely and irreparably harms our universities, hospitals, businesses, communities, and residents. Keeping the preliminary injunction in place will continue to provide critical protection to the state interests the ban endangers," the Attorneys General write.
The brief also argues that the national scope of the preliminary injunction is proper in light of these systemic, nationwide harms and the broader public interest.
The Fourth Circuit is scheduled to hear oral arguments en banc on Friday, December 8th.