State Attorney General Bob Ferguson of Washington announced Monday he will file a lawsuit in federal court against President Trump’s executive order on immigration.
Ferguson, a Democrat, who has been vocal in his opposition to Trump’s recently signed immigration order, said the lawsuit will ask the U.S. District Court of Western Washington to find key provisions of the executive order to be “unconstitutional.”
Trump’s immigration action violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of Equal Protection and the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, infringes on individuals’ constitutional right to due process, and conflicts with the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, Ferguson argued. The lawsuit will also seek a temporary stay on the executive order to prevent the immigration ban from being enforced by the federal government.
Trump’s executive order is “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,” the lawsuit asserted.
“No one is above the law — not even the president,” Ferguson said on Monday. “And in the courtroom, it is not the loudest voice that prevails. It’s the Constitution.”
Ferguson asked to court to schedule a hearing within two weeks.
On Saturday, a federal judge in Brooklyn issued an emergency stay against the executive order, preventing it from being enforceable against certain immigrants already in the United States. Trump’s order temporarily halted the acceptance of refugees, and also temporarily blocked immigration from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
