SEATTLE — On Feb. 3, Judge James L. Robart of the Western District of Washington ruled in favor of the Washington State Attorney General’s motion for a temporary restraining order on key sections of President Donald Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban.”
Bob Ferguson, the Washington State Attorney General, argued the provisions were illegal and unconstitutional. The suit was joined by the Attorney General of Minnesota, Lori Swanson.
The two state Attorney Generals argued that the executive order violates the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of Equal Protection and the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause. They argued that Trump’s order also violates the constitutional right to Due Process and contravenes the federal Immigration and Nationality Act. The court found that the State had shown that the Trump administration was unlikely to succeed in defending the order’s lawfulness.
In issuing the court order, Judge Robart also held that irreparable harm was likely to occur without the restraining order. The court order notes that stopping the president’s policy immediately and nationwide is in the best interest of the public.
“The Constitution prevailed today,” Ferguson said. “No one is above the law — not even the president.”
Major Washington state institutions supported the Attorney General’s lawsuit through declarations filed alongside the complaint. In their declarations, for example, Amazon and Expedia set forth the detrimental ways the executive order impacts their operations and their employees.