Washington, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (DE) and Representative Zoe Lofgren (CA) – who previously led 165 Members of Congress in a brief filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit – today filed a new “friend of the court” brief at the U.S. Supreme Court in Trump v. Hawaii. Coons and Lofgren ask the Justices to halt President Trump’s latest attempt to implement his Muslim travel ban against grandparents and other close family relatives of certain immigrants, as well as refugees who have a bona fide relationship to the United States.

Read the brief filed today here.

“The Trump Administration’s position defies common sense,” said CAC Chief Counsel Brianne Gorod, “and nothing in the law justifies their arbitrary line-drawing. To argue that someone’s grandmother does not count as a ‘close familial relationship’ – as outlined by the Supreme Court in its order handed down last month – is both irrational and inexcusable.”

“The Trump Administration’s view is out of step with how closely most families across the globe hold relatives such as grandparents,” added CAC Civil Rights Director David Gans. “In fact, the Supreme Court has expressly described ‘uncles, aunts, cousins, and especially grandparents’ as ‘close relatives.’ Moreover, the Trump Administration’s banning of refugees who can demonstrate a bona fide relationship with the United States tramples on the language of the Court’s order last month, and practically demands the Court’s rebuke.”

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Resources:

CAC “friend of the court” brief on behalf of Members of Congress in Trump v. Hawaii: https://www.theusconstitution.org/sites/default/files/briefs/Hawaii_v_Trump_Merits_Amicus_Final.pdf

“Muslim travel ban 2.0: just as unconstitutional as version 1.0,” Elizabeth Wydra, Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 30, 2017: http://www.richmond.com/opinion/their-opinion/guest-columnists/eilzabeth-wydra-column-muslim-travel-ban-just-as-unconstitutional-as/article_c28f22d8-5d98-5c6e-9c2c-c3b662f77291.html 

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Constitutional Accountability Center (www.theusconstitution.org) is a think tank, public interest law firm, and action center dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text and history.

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