Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum signed a court brief Monday in support of Washington state’s effort to block President Trump’s executive order on immigration.
The president's order restricts travel from several Muslim-majority countries, and critics have called it a ban on people who practice the religion. The Trump Administration has characterized it as a necessary tool to revamp American immigration policies.
A federal judge granted Washington’s request for a temporary restraining order against the immigration restrictions last week. A judge will decide this week if Washington’s lawsuit can move forward.
"If the appellate court upholds the TRO, which we hope it will, it is likely to send it back to the trial court in Washington state for further proceedings," Rosenblum said in a statement Monday. "We want to be ready to help in any way we can to establish the permanent illegality of the Executive Order."
Rosenblum and 14 other attorneys general who signed New York state's amicus brief claim the immigration restrictions are hurting medical care, international students and tax dollars in their respective states.
"The Executive Order is inflicting actual, concrete, and particularized injuries to the States’ proprietary, sovereign, and quasi-sovereign interests," states New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in the brief.
The top attorneys for Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, California, Delaware, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Rhode Island, Maine, Vermont, Maryland, Virginia, New Mexico and Washington D.C. also signed the order.
In addition to the brief, Oregon is coordinating with Washington state officials to possibly join the lawsuit, according to Rosenblum. If a judge allows that, Rosenblum said the state's legal resources could be used to support Washington's action directly.
