With President Trump's plans on hold to slow some immigration arrivals into the United States, a three judge federal appeals panel scheduled arguments for Tuesday afternoon on a request by the Trump Administration to allow the President's executive order to go into effect.
"The Executive Order is a lawful exercise of the President’s authority over the entry of aliens into the United States and the admission of refugees," the Justice Department argued in a final brief to the Ninth Circuit, as the feds argued the states challenging Mr. Trump's order don't have standing to sue.
"It is well-settled that a State lacks authority to sue “as the representative of its citizens” to protect them from the operation of federal law," the feds argued.
Reinforcing the politically important nature of this argument, the Ninth Circuit has agreed to provide live audio and video to the public:
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
At issue is whether a federal judge in Seattle can keep the entire Trump immigration on hold - the Trump Administration is asking for that restraining order to be lifted, while the legal battle continues over the plan.
"Congress has granted the President broad discretion under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(f) to suspend the entry of “any class of aliens” into the United States, and independently broad discretion over the refugee program," the Justice Department maintained.
As for the states involved in the legal challenge against the Trump order, Washington and Minnesota argue that the changes in refugee admissions and regular travel from seven countries has cost them revenue, stranded university faculty overseas, and divided families who live in the U.S.
The judge in the case ruled Friday that states have been impacted negatively by the Trump order, "in areas of employment, education, business, family relations, and freedom to travel."
Credit: Jamie Dupree
Credit: Jamie Dupree
But that order by Judge James Robart has not been universally embraced by the Judiciary; as the Justice Department noted several times in their final brief, another ruling by a district court judge concluded that President Trump has the power to push ahead with his immigration order, ruling it is "neutral with respect to religion."
Arguments are set for 6 pm ET on Tuesday; one would think that will mean a ruling later this week on whether the immigration order can go into effect.
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