Ken Paxton
AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton today applauded a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that allows full implementation of President Trump’s travel ban pending a final decision on the merits. Issued in September, the president’s executive order places restrictions on travel to the U.S. by foreign nationals from eight countries that are terror-prone or have inadequate vetting measures.
On November 22, a 12-state coalition led by Attorney General Paxton filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the high court in support of the president’s travel ban, which was crafted to protect the nation from terrorism.
“The Supreme Court ruling reinforced the argument in our brief that the travel ban is lawful, constitutional and should be enforced in its entirety,” Attorney General Paxton said. “The president is fulfilling his solemn duty to protect Texans and all Americans from the threat of terror.”
The U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 4th and 9th Circuits will hold arguments on challenges to the ban this week. In its ruling, the Supreme Court said it expects the lower courts to reach decisions “with appropriate dispatch,” which would enable the high court to hear and decide the issue during its current term, ending in June.
Earlier this year, Attorney General Paxton 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.
View today’s U.S. Supreme Court order here:https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/120417zr_4gd5.pdf
View the 12-state coalition Supreme Court amicus brief here: http://bit.ly/2hN5Kww