The American Civil Liberties Union filed a new federal lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Maryland on Tuesday challenging President Trump’s temporary suspension of immigration from seven countries.
ACLU and ACLU of Maryland partnered with National Immigration Law Center, which is representing HIAS and the International Refugee Assistance Project at the Urban Justice Center, to allege Trump’s actions violate federal law, including the First Amendment’s freedom of religion and the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal treatment under the law.
“There is no question that President Trump’s executive order violates bedrock legal principles and protections, and that it singles out Muslims for disfavored treatment,” Nicholas Espiritu, staff attorney at the NILC, said in a statement.
“We will not stand for this kind of government discrimination that clearly runs afoul of our Constitution and human decency. These actions are shameful and un-American.”
“President Trump’s Muslim ban is unconstitutional. Appropriately, the government is currently prohibited from implementing the executive order, and the plaintiffs in this case stand ready to take further action to protect their rights,” Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, said.
The 90-day ban was announced Jan. 27 and has been criticized by some as discriminating against seven Muslim-majority countries. Trump has said the move is in place until screening protocols can be improved to verify the identities of those emigrating from Somalia, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya and Yemen.
The ACLU has also filed a lawsuit in the eastern district of New York on behalf of two Iraqi nationals who were detained at John F. Kennedy airport as a result of the order.
Trump’s action has been challenged in other states, including one in Washington state that has already risen to a federal appeals court.
