Cross-posted on Take Care.
In the Fourth Circuit oral argument yesterday in IRAP v. Trump, Judge Barbara Keenan put her finger on a simple, basic reason why Section 2(c) of Executive Order 13769 is unlawful—and it doesn’t have much to do with the Establishment Clause.… continue »
The Army inspires its soldiers to embody certain values. Chief among them is the idea that all members of the team should be appreciated for their contributions, dedication to the mission, and patriotism. All soldiers deserve respect, and no soldier should feel unwelcome because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, or religious background.… continue »
Few would dispute that government actions motivated wholly by religion violate the Constitution’s Establishment Clause. The question becomes more complicated if the motives are mixed because the challenged government action also furthers a secular interest, such as national security. The answer to this tricky question, according to longstanding Establishment Clause doctrine, is that constitutionality depends on the government’s primary motive.… continue »
Every one of the 10 airports targeted by the new “laptop ban,” issued last week by the Department of Homeland Security, is located in a Muslim-majority country. Unsurprisingly, advocates from the ACLU and Amnesty International have expressed concerns that this may be just the latest Trump administration policy motivated by Islamophobia.… continue »
The San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) suspended its participation in the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) last month. JTTFs are counterterrorism-focused intelligence-sharing centers, and by the FBI’s count, it operates 104 across the country. Many interpreted the SFPD’s suspension as a reaction to President Donald Trump’s “Muslim ban,” and to some degree it was.… continue »
The ongoing travel ban litigation has triggered intense debate on whether an assessment of the ban’s constitutionality must be limited to the “four corners” of President Trump’s revised Executive Order. This is partly because there is little else to discuss.… continue »
Just a day before courts blocked President Donald Trump’s second “Muslim ban,” a judge in New York City formally approved a joint settlement in two lawsuits challenging the NYPD’s well-documented and unconstitutional surveillance of Muslim communities. The agreement lays out new reforms that will go a long way toward making this city a safer and more just place for everyone.… continue »
Contrary to President Donald Trump’s recent suggestion that his revised travel ban is the victim of “judicial overreach,” his problem isn’t just courts in the Ninth Circuit, which have now repeatedly halted his immigration orders. It’s the executive order itself, and the intent behind it.… continue »
Busy night. The Ninth Circuit has released an order denying en banc rehearing of the three-judge panel decision in Washington v. Trump from last month (which, readers may recall, had denied the government’s request to stay the district court’s TRO of the original immigration Executive Order).… continue »
The 43-page ruling is here. In a nutshell, the court held that, at least at the temporary restraining order stage, a balance of the relevant factors weighed in favor of the plaintiffs (especially the private plaintiff, Dr. Elshikh), based largely on the court’s assessment of the strength of the Establishment Clause challenge, which was predicated on “significant and unrebutted evidence of religious animus driving the promulgation of the Executive Order and its related predecessor.” Thus, the court entered a nationwide TRO:
… continue »Defendants and all their respective officers, agents, servants, employees, and attorneys, and persons in active concert or participation with them, are hereby enjoined from enforcing or implementing Sections 2 and 6 of the Executive Order across the Nation.
