13 states urge appeals court to OK Trump travel ban
RICHMOND - A group of 12 state attorneys general and one governor is backing US President Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting six predominantly Muslim countries, telling a federal appeals court Monday that the Republican acted lawfully in the interest of national security.
The states are urging the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a lower court judge's ruling that blocked part of the president's revised executive order. The states say the administration's action is not a "pretext for religious discrimination" and does not violate the constitution.
"The Executive Order's temporary pause in entry by nationals from six countries and in the refugee program neither mentions any religion nor depends on whether affected aliens are Muslim," the states write in the brief with the Richmond, Virginia-based court. "Thus, the Executive Order is emphatically not a 'Muslim Ban.'"
The states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia. Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi also joined.
