Minn. Attorney General Joins Lawsuit Over Trump Executive Order
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota Attorney General is joining a lawsuit with several other states claiming President Trump's recent executive order on immigration is unconstitutional.
The executive order, signed by the president on Friday, restricts all those with passports from Somalia, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Iran, Sudan and Syria from traveling to the U.S. for 90 days, with exceptions for those with certain types of visas. The order also suspends any refugee resettlement in the U.S. for 120 days, and suspends Syrian refugee resettlement indefinitely.
The lawsuit, originally filed by the state of Washington earlier this week, argues that the order violates the Equal Protection clause of the Constitution, as well as the federal Immigration and Nationality act of 1965, which prohibits discrimination in issuing travel visas on the basis of nationality, race, or place of birth or residence.
"It does not pass constitutional muster, is inconsistent with our history as a nation, and undermines our national security," Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson said.
Minnesota will be the 5th state to join the lawsuit. New York, Massachusetts and Virginia joined earlier in the week.
Several other institutions have filed lawsuits on the executive order, and in four cases federal judges ruled customs agents could not indefinitely hold or deport those who had already arrived in the U.S. when the order was signed.