WA and MN V Trump 17-35105 American CTR For Law and Justice Amicus Motion and Brief
WA and MN V Trump 17-35105 American CTR For Law and Justice Amicus Motion and Brief
WA and MN V Trump 17-35105 American CTR For Law and Justice Amicus Motion and Brief
No. 17-35105
Plaintiffs-Appellees,
v.
Defendant-Appellants.
respectfully move for leave to file a 20-page, or 5,600 word, memorandum of law
1. Amici are many States within the United States which are harmed by
the Executive Order issued on January 27, 2017, entitled Protecting the Nation
from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States (the Executive Order).
Country, including upon the Amici. It harms, among other things, state colleges
and universities, state medical institutions, and state tax revenues from students,
challenge the Executive Order in light of the harm it inflicts on them and that
would not preserve the status quo and would cause further chaos.
1
The full list of amici in addition to New York is: California, Connecticut,
Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
1
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29(a)(2), counsel for Appellants and Appellees both have consented to the filing of
an amicus response.
and the desire of each to detail specific harm to it caused by the Executive Order as
well as to fully brief the issues therein, the Amici have required additional space.
permission, an amicus brief may be no more than one-half the maximum length
authorized by these rules for a partys principal brief. Fed. R. App. P. 27 and
Circuit Rule 27-1(1)(d) do not speak in terms of briefs, instead stating that,
except with the Courts permission, a motion or response to a motion may not
exceed 20 pages, or 5,600 words pursuant to Circuit Rule 32-3(2). If the Rule 29
the Courts leave to file a 20-page (or 5,600-word) memorandum of law under the
provisions of Rule 27, Circuit Rule 27-1, and Circuit Rule 32-3(2)
specific harm caused by the Executive Order to a number of different States and is
2
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motion and permit the Amici leave to file a 20-page memorandum of law.
Respectfully submitted,
ERIC T. SCHNEIDERMAN MAURA HEALEY
Attorney General Attorney General
State of New York Commonwealth of Massachusetts
BARBARA D. UNDERWOOD ELIZABETH N. DEWAR
Solicitor General GENEVIEVE C. NADEAU
ANISHA S. DASGUPTA JONATHAN B. MILLER
Deputy Solicitor General Assistant Attorneys General
120 Broadway, 25th Floor One Ashburton Place
New York, NY 10271 Boston, MA 02108
JOSH SHAPIRO
Attorney General
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
JONATHAN SCOTT GOLDMAN
Executive Deputy Attorney General
Civil Law Division
Strawberry Square, 15th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17120
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No. 17-35105
BRIEF OF AMICUS CURIAE THE AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE
IN SUPPORT OF DEFENDANTS-APPELLANTS MOTION FOR A STAY
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................... 2
II. The District Courts Temporary Restraining Order Affronts the Constitution
and Congress.. ....................................................................................................... 5
CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 8
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
CASES
Cardenas v. United States, 826 F.3d 1164 (9th Cir. 2016) ...................................... 5
STATUTES
ii
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OTHER AUTHORITY
Executive Order: Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the
United States (Jan. 27, 2017) ....................................................................... 1, 6-7
Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 29(a)(4)(A) ..................................................... 1
iii
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CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 29(A)(4)(E)
Center for Law and Justice affirms that no counsel for a party authored this brief in
whole or in part and that no person other than the amicus, its members, or its
counsel has made any monetary contributions intended to fund the preparation or
Amicus Curiae the American Center for Law and Justice is an organization
dedicated to the defense of constitutional liberties secured by law. Counsel for the
ACLJ have presented oral argument, represented parties, and submitted amicus
briefs before the United States Supreme Court and numerous state and federal
courts around the country in cases concerning the First Amendment and
immigration law, including FEC v. Wisconsin Right to Life, 551 U.S. 449 (2007),
1
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McConnell v. FEC, 540 U.S. 93 (2003), and United States v. Texas, 136 S. Ct.
2271 (2016). The ACLJ has been active in advocacy and litigation concerning the
need for protecting the Constitution, the First Amendment, the separation of
powers, and the immigration laws in place that protect American Citizens from
harm.
BACKGROUND
On January 27, 2017, the President of the United States executed his
Executive Order: Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the
United States (Jan. 27, 2017) (Executive Order). In pertinent part, the Executive
Order (1) suspends immigrant and nonimmigrant entry from seven countries of
particular concern designated as such by the prior administration; (2) pauses the
U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for 120 days to allow necessary
claims of people seeking refugee status due to religious persecution from countries
bans the entry of Muslims because they are Muslims or even identifies any
On February 3, 2017, the United States District Court for the Western
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According to the District Court, its Temporary Restraining Order had nationwide
legal analysis. The Courts Order contains only a recitation of legal standards; but
offends.
This defect is of particular moment here because the type of relief Plaintiffs
seek is well known to be extraordinary. See Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council,
Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 24 (2008) (TRO is an extraordinary remedy that may only be
awarded upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief). For
routinely granted. A plaintiff must clearly show that he is likely to succeed on the
1
The Court also entered the injunction at the behest of two States parties that are not
themselves even subject to the Executive Order and lack Article III standing or any right to
challenge the denial of entry or visas to third-party aliens. In any event, Plaintiffs likelihood of
success on the issue of standing is anything but clear. See Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504
U.S. 555, 576 (1992) (concerning standing; explaining that certain regulatory matters are the
function of Congress and the Chief Executive and not the federal courts).
3
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relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the
public interest. Stormans, Inc. v. Selecky, 586 F.3d 1109 (9th Cir. 2009) (citing
Winter, 555 U.S. at 20). A clear showing as to each and every element of this
standard is, admittedly, a heavy burden. But that is precisely the way it is meant to
benefit of a full trial or merits hearing. See University of Texas v. Camenisch, 451
U.S. 390, 396 (1981) ([W]here a federal district court has granted a preliminary
injunction, the parties generally will have had the benefit neither of a full
opportunity to present their cases nor of a final judicial decision based on the
actual merits of the controversy.). In the realm of national security decisions, like
those made by the President here and reflected in the challenged Executive Order,
judicial intervention without a full trial can be dangerous. At the very least, such
analysis, which the District Court failed to provide. Merely stating, without
explanation or analysis, that the Plaintiffs had shown a high likelihood of success
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alien is a sovereign act of the United States. The Supreme Court has long
from judicial control. Cardenas v. United States, 826 F.3d 1164, 1169 (9th Cir.
2016) (quoting Fiallo v. Bell, 430 U.S. 787, 792 (1977)). The District Courts
that the President should have the unreviewable authority to suspend the admission
of any class of aliens. There can be no doubt that Congress expressly delegated to
the President broad discretionary authority: Whenever the President finds that the
entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be
detrimental to the interests of the United States, the President has the authority to
The United States Constitution grants to the President inherent foreign affairs and
national security powers. U.S. Const. Article II; Harisiades v. Shaughnessy, 342
U.S. 580, 588 (1952) (recognizing that immigration control is an integral part of
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Article II authorities in regard to the conduct of foreign relations [and] the war
includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate.
Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579, 635-36 (1952).
privilege and has no constitutional rights regarding his application, for the power to
21, 32 (1982); United States ex rel. Knauff v. Shaughnessy, 338 U.S. 537, 542
(1950) ([A]n alien who seeks admission to this country may not do so under any
the sovereign United States Government. Such privilege is granted to an alien only
upon such terms as the United States shall prescribe.). 2 Moreover, the
2
Again, the Presidents Executive Order makes no reference to any particular faith or religion
and can no more implicate the Establishment Clause than does 8 U.S.C.S. 1101(a)(42)(A), the
congressional statute expressly defining refugee to include persons fleeing actual or feared
persecution on account of their religion. Neither the Presidents nor the Congress recognition of
religious persecution as a lawful ground for granting refugee status and eligibility for asylum
constitutes forbidden governmental favor of one religion over another or entanglement. Properly
understood, the Executive Order providing that aliens seeking refugee status on account of
religious persecution are to be given priority if their religion is a minority religion in their
country makes excellent sense. Around the globe, one whose religion is a minority is much
more likely to be persecuted. The result Plaintiffs seek would have extremely negative and far-
reaching consequences for refugees of all religions. Regardless, this is a policy determination by
the political branches concerning non-resident aliens, to whom the First Amendment has not
been held to apply.
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160 (1963), and the first responsibility of the United States government is national
defense and security. The Presidents Executive Order was based on precisely that
responsibility.
Constitution and Congress and clearly fall within the Presidents well-established
constitutional and statutory authority. The Executive Order does not ban Muslim
immigrants or refugees because they are Muslims and makes no reference to any
3
Cutting through the hyperbole and inflammatory rhetoric surrounding the Order, Amicus Curiae
urges this Court to carefully consider what the Presidents Executive Order actually does and
what it does not do. Expressly relying on authority and procedures set forth in 8 U.S.C.
1187(a)(12), the Order suspends for 90 days the entry of people from countries of particular
concern (currently Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Yemen and Somalia all countries already
designated as such during President Obamas administration). Sec. 3(c). Among other reasons,
this 90-day pause is to ensure that adequate standards are established to prevent infiltration by
foreign terrorists or criminals. Id. Certain diplomatic and governmental visa holders are
exempted. The Order also requires a determination of the information needed for adjudications
and a list of countries that do not provide adequate information, within 30 days; the U.S.
Department of State to request such information from all foreign governments; and a
recommendation of countries whose nationals should be prohibited entry due to a countrys
failure to provide the information. Sec. 3.
Concerning refugee acceptance, the Executive Order suspends the USRAP for 120 days,
during which the program will be reviewed to determine what additional procedures should be
taken to ensure that those approved for refugee admission do not pose a threat to the security and
welfare of the United States, and shall implement such additional procedures. Sec. 5(a). The
Order also prioritize[s] refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based
persecution, provided that the religion of the individual is a minority religion in the individual's
country of nationality. Sec. 5(b). The Order suspends the acceptance of Syrian refugees as
detrimental to the interests of the United States until sufficient changes have been made to
the refugee program. Sec. 5(c). The Order decreases the overall refugee cap to 50,000, Sec.
5(d), much closer to normal refugee limits before the prior administration dramatically increased
the number this past year. It is abundantly clear that the President clearly has the discretionary
authority to make this adjustment.
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specific religion. Instead, the Executive Order simply pauses the entry of
immigrants from certain unstable and terrorism-infested countries and refugees for
the clearly articulated purpose of allowing time for needed improvements to the
United States outdated immigration and refugee screening process. The countries
whose nationals are implicated in the Order were already designated as countries
CONCLUSION
Wherefore, for these reasons and others, the Amicus Curiae respectfully
urges this Court to stay the District Courts Temporary Restraining Order and
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that a true and correct copy of the foregoing Motion of the
American Center for Law and Justice for Leave to File its Amicus Curiae Brief and
the proposed Brief of Amicus Curiae were electronically filed with the Clerk of
Court for the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on February 6,
2017, using CM/ECF, which will send notification of such filing to counsel of
record.