Texas filed a brief in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals urging the court to review a decision upholding the temporary suspension of President Donald Trump’s executive order on refugees.
Attorney General Ken Paxton and Solicitor General Scott Keller filed an amicus (or “friend-of-the-court”) brief urging the 9th Circuit to review last week’s ruling en banc, a procedure in which a panel of 11 judges would revisit the decision. Texas is the first state to file a brief in support of the administration. Washington, Minnesota and Hawaii organized the challenge to Trump’s executive order currently before the 9th Circuit.
“The law makes it very clear that the president has discretion to protect the safety of the American people and our nation’s institutions with respect to who can come into this country,” Paxton said in a statement. “The safety of the American people and the security of our country are President Trump’s major responsibilities under the law.”
The brief argues that the president’s order is a lawful exercise of the power delegated to him by Congress. The executive, they argue, exercises his strongest powers in those areas where he is acting pursuant to his own constitutional prerogatives and a specific grant of authority from Congress.
Texas also contends the order does not trigger due process or establishment clause issues. The 9th Circuit found that unadmitted, nonresident aliens may have a limited due process interest in seeking admission to the U.S. U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia ruled Monday night that the order may violate the Constitution’s ban on the establishment of religion. The order, critics charge, evidences discriminatory intent toward Muslims, and unlawfully prioritizes the entry of religious minorities from the seven countries targeted by the immigration freeze.
The U.S. Department of Justice declined to appeal last week’s ruling to the Supreme Court, and is also seeking en banc review before considering other options.
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