Muslim Americans' lawsuit claims Trump exclusion order is unconstitutional

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Lawyers like these with Rep. Judy Chu at LAX volunteered to help families of those impacted by
President Donald Trump's executive order placing restrictions Muslim immigrants and refugees.

A LAWSUIT was filed challenging the constitutionality of Donald Trump's Executive Order that calls for a temporary ban on the Muslim immigrants or refugees

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of more than 20 people challenging President Donald Trump's immigration ban on seven Muslim-majority countries as a First Amendment violation.

The Muslim civil rights advocates is calling Trump's Executive Order the Muslim Exclusion Order, reminiscent of the Chinese Exclusion Act.

The lawsuit charges that Trump's executive order singles out one religion, which could lead to the expulsion of all Muslims living in the United States when their legal status expires.

"Five judges have had the opportunity to weigh on the constitutionality of this executive order, and we're batting five for five," said Gadeir Abbas, one of the attorneys who filed the suit. "Five have found constitutional problems with this executive order so we hope to put an end to it once and for all."

A federal judge in Brooklyn issued the first injunction temporarily blocking implementation of part of the ban on Saturday. Judges in Virginia, Washington state, Texas and California followed suit. We 

The CAIR lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Virginia, seeks a much more broader action that could potentially bring the executive order to a screeching halt, if not strike it dead completely.

The 27 plaintiffs contend that the Muslim exclusion order represents “the fulfillment of President Trump’s longstanding promise and boasted intent to enact a federal policy that overtly discriminates against Muslims and officially broadcasts a message that the federal government disfavors the religion of Islam, preferring all other religions instead.”

Filed in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Virginia, the suit alleges the executive order violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which states the government cannot endorse one religion over another.

Trump signed the executive order Friday prohibiting Muslims from Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the United States for 90 days. 

It went into effect immediately and within hours, spontaneous demonstrations involving thousands of protesters broke out in airports all over the country.

“This policy is blatant xenophobia parading as national security. Numerous studies have shown that refugees and immigrants commit fewer crimes than native-born citizens., said Rep. Judy Chu. "Yet Mr. Trump continues to rely on the false justification that the U.S. cannot risk admitting refugees, when the reality is that the U.S. already has one of the strictest refugee vetting policies in the world. 

"The refugees seeking asylum here are overwhelmingly women and parents who do not pose a threat to our country, but simply want a chance to live in peace, away from the horrors of war and refugee camps. For them, this policy is a death sentence."

Acting Attorney General  Sally Yates was removed from her post by Trump after she told her attorneys not to defend the executive order.

"My responsibility is to ensure that the position of the Department of Justice is not only legally defensible, but is informed by our best view of what the law is after consideration of all the facts," Yates said in a letter. "In addition, I am responsible for ensuring that the positions we take in court remain consistent with this institution's solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right."