North Carolina's attorney general is joining the legal fight over President Trump's executive action on immigration. Josh Stein, a Democrat, says his office will join a brief with about 16 other states arguing the executive action should remain on hold while the case plays out.
Trump's executive order temporarily bans citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries – as well as refugees from any country – from entering the U.S. while his administration reviews how they're vetted.
That order is harming "state colleges and universities, medical institutions, tax revenues … and civil rights," according to a friend-of-the-court brief North Carolina is joining. It says that colleges and universities enroll thousands of students from affected countries, and that medical residents from those countries provide crucial care at hospitals, often in underserved areas. The brief is before the federal appeals court over Washington, one of the states that initially sued to halt the order.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is joining the brief because he says the order is unconstitutional and "undermines the core American value of religious tolerance."
The U.S. Justice Department counters the order is a lawful use of presidential authority. Its attorneys say it simply allows a review of screening procedures to protect against terrorist attacks.
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