AUSTIN – Leading a coalition of 12 states, Attorney General Ken Paxton today filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, asking the court to uphold the latest travel ban crafted by the Trump administration to protect the nation from terrorism.
The restrictions on travel to the U.S. apply to eight countries that are terror-prone or have inadequate security requirements. Last month, a U.S. District Court in Hawaii blocked the travel ban from taking effect, and the U.S. Department of Justice appealed the ruling to the 9th Circuit.
In their brief, Attorney General Paxton and his counterparts argue that the injunction “denies the federal government the latitude necessary to make national security, foreign affairs, and immigration policy judgments.”
“The Trump administration’s latest travel ban is a lawful exercise of statutorily authorized executive power over foreign affairs and national security, and a reasonable response to the ongoing threat of terrorism in our country,” Attorney General Paxton said. “The president is fulfilling his solemn duty to protect Texans and all Americans.”
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.
In a separate ruling last month, a U.S. District Court in Maryland blocked parts of the travel ban. Leading a 10-state coalition, Attorney General Paxton filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit supporting the Trump administration’s motion for a stay of the ruling.
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.