Scholars file amicus brief in Ninth Circuit related to executive order on immigration

Client(s) Various constitutional law scholars

Jones Day filed an amicus brief on behalf of a group of constitutional law scholars to assist the Ninth Circuit as it considered whether to grant an emergency stay of a temporary injunction entered by the District Court for the Western District of Washington. That temporary injunction forbid enforcement of President Trump's executive order barring the admission of aliens from seven majority-Muslim countries. The brief argued that, contrary to the administration's claims, the political branches' "plenary powers" over immigration do not give the executive branch "unreviewable authority" to suspend the admission of "any class of aliens." While review of executive action is indeed entitled to deference, the brief argued, those actions are still subject to certain constitutional limits, and those limits must be enforced by courts when appropriate. The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's temporary injunction order.

Washington v. Trump, Case No. 17-35105 (9th Cir.)