Attorney General Xavier Becerra: The Constitution Still Trumps Rhetoric

Thursday, February 9, 2017
Contact: (916) 210-6000, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov

SACRAMENTO - Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued the following statement on the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals decision to uphold a federal district court order suspending President Donald Trump’s travel ban.

“The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on the side of justice today, acknowledging the States’ right to challenge the Trump Administration’s travel ban and keeping in place a district court order suspending that ban.  As Attorneys General throughout the country have argued, the Trump Administration violated the Constitution when it blocked tens of thousands of law-abiding people—who have already been vetted and received permission to enter—from traveling to the United States.   

While today’s court ruling may not mark the end of our fight, its decision to preserve the suspension of the Trump Administration’s travel ban means that our families and businesses and our state institutions and universities can continue forward without harmful disruption.

As this issue moves further through the courts, I will take every measure possible to inform Californians of their rights and to monitor the federal authorities' adherence to the suspension of the Administration’s un-American and unconstitutional order.”

On Monday, Attorney General Becerra and 17 State Attorneys General filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in State of Washington v. Trump, in opposition of the Trump Administration’s travel ban. 

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