The state of Hawaii said in a court filing Tuesday that it intends to file a legal challenge to President Donald Trump's revamped executive order pausing refugee resettlement and immigration from six majority-Muslim countries.
In a court filing in the state, Hawaii Attorney General Douglas Chin asks the court to approve a swift briefing schedule on the state's intended request for a temporary restraining order blocking the new travel ban before it takes effect on March 16.
The state said it would file a new complaint to supplement its initial challenge to an earlier, more comprehensive travel ban issued by the Trump administration in January.
The intent of both travel orders, Trump administration officials say, is to screen out visitors from countries affected by terrorism until more stringent vetting measures can be put into place.
In its suit over the earlier travel order, Hawaii had argued that it adversely impacted its residents, businesses and universities and was in violation of the Constitution. The state argued that the executive order discriminated against Muslims and violated the equal protection and due process guarantees of the Constitution.
That suit was filed Feb. 3 and was paused after a federal judge in Seattle blocked implementation of the order nationwide.
Lawyers from Washington state who brought the Seattle case said Monday that they had not decided if they would sue over the new travel rules.
It's unclear what arguments that Hawaii intends to make against the new ban, which has been stripped of many provisions that federal judges across the country found troublesome.
Trump's new order does not give preference to religious minorities in refugee admissions. It exempts several categories of people from its restrictions, including dual nationals who have U.S. citizenship, green-card holders and people who already hold valid visas.
Legal experts have said the new travel ban, which applies to citizens of Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Syria and Yemen _ it does not include Iraq as the previous order did _ will be tougher to battle in court because of the president's broad authority over immigration enforcement and national security when it comes to non-citizens and those without visas.
