Ken Paxton
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton, leading a coalition of 12 state attorneys general, today filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit supporting the Trump administration’s latest travel ban, which was issued following an extensive worldwide security review by U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials.
Eight countries that are terror-prone or have inadequate security requirements are included in President Trump’s travel ban, which was scheduled to take effect on September 18. However, a U.S. District Court in Maryland granted a preliminary injunction against some of the restrictions, and the U.S. Department of Justice appealed the ruling to the 4th Circuit.
“The Trump administration has taken significant and common-sense steps through the travel ban to upgrade vetting of foreign nationals who enter the U.S. and strengthen national security procedures,” Attorney General Paxton said. “The travel ban is constitutional, lawful and vital to protecting Texans and all Americans from those who intend to commit terrorist attacks in our country.”
Texas is joined in the amicus brief by the attorneys general of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia. The 12-state coalition led by Attorney General Paxton took the same action in the 9th Circuit to defend the travel ban after it was blocked by a U.S. District Court in Hawaii. You can view that amicus brief here: http://bit.ly/2hC3RTE
Since January, Attorney General Paxton has been at the forefront of the fight for the constitutional travel ban. He filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit to defend the president’s original executive order on immigration, making Texas the only state to officially support the travel ban. When the administration’s revised travel ban was blocked, 16 states joined Texas in a friend-of-the-court brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in favor of allowing crucial parts of the ban to take effect.
To view the 4th Circuit amicus brief, click here: http://bit.ly/2zcnZ6a