DES MOINES, Iowa (WHO-TV) — On Monday, Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller joined 15 state attorneys general in support of the Washington state and Minnesota federal lawsuit against President Trump’s executive order on immigration.
The Iowa Department of Justice released a statement on Monday, stating that in an amici curiae brief written by attorneys general in Pennsylvania, New York and Massachusetts, the attorneys general said, “Although the amici States’ residents, institutions, industries, and economies differ in various ways, we now all stand together in facing concrete, immediate and irreparable harms from the Executive Order.”
The brief is signed by attorneys general in 15 states and the District of Columbia.
Attorney General Miller said, “The president has broad authority to oversee our nation’s immigration policies and procedures, but not even the president has authority to circumvent our Constitution’s fundamental guarantees of equal protection, religious freedom and due process.”
The amicus brief supports the states’ standing to challenge the order, noting harm the attorneys general believe it inflicts on the states themselves. This includes state educational institutions, state medical institutions, and diminished tax revenues from students, tourists, and business visitors.
The brief also calls for a denial of the federal government’s motion for stay, as they say it would bring the country back to a state of confusion and chaos created by the executive order after its implementation.
