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AG Bob Ferguson seeking a travel ban hearing

Washington’s Attorney General has been battling the Trump Administration’s travel ban since the end of January.

The court cases effectively pushed the administration to walk back the initial order. Trump’s team issued a second iteration of the ban in the first week of March.

Now, with the new travel ban set to go into effect Thursday, Ferguson’s team may have a more difficult battle ahead of them. They are planning to extend the injunction they won for the first ban to the second ban. But the impact of the second ban is narrower, even if it is similar in its core policy goals.

Ferguson filed an amended complaint Monday and is seeking a hearing for Tuesday on the second ban, according to a press release from his office.

“No one is above the law, not even the President — and I will hold him accountable to the Constitution,” Ferguson said in the release. “Cutting some illegal aspects of President Trump’s original travel ban does not cure his affront to our Constitution.”

More states have joined Washington since Ferguson first challenged the ban. According to the release:

Ferguson also announced a growing, multistate coalition working in support of his lawsuit, counting California as the most recent partner.

Judge Robart granted Oregon’s motion to intervene on March 8. Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and now California also asked the court for permission to join the lawsuit. Those requests are currently pending.

On Monday, January 30, Washington filed the first lawsuit broadly challenging the constitutionality of the Trump Administration’s move to restrict immigration from several majority-Muslim nations and the resettlement of refugees.

Erin Fenner: erin@washingtonstatewire.com, @erinfenner


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