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13 States File Support for Federal Immigration Ban

Attorney General Ken Paxton joined Republicans officials from 12 other states to throw their weight behind the Trump administration Monday, filing an amicus brief supporting the president's revised travel ban.

By Andrea Zelinski

Attorney General Ken Paxton joined Republicans officials from 12 other states to throw their weight behind the Trump administration Monday, filing an amicus brief supporting the president's revised travel ban.

The brief, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, argues the president's executive order "is not a pretext for religious discrimination" because it is rooted in concerns about national security and is constitutional.

Although federal judges in Hawaii and Maryland have blocked the administration's order to restrict immigration from six predominantly Muslim countries earlier this month, a Virginia U.S. district judge denied a request there to also halt the president's order on Friday.

Paxton, who was the first attorney general to file a brief supporting Trump's initial executive order to restrict travel to the United States, filed the amicus brief along with attorneys general from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia and the Mississippi governor.

Citing "uncertainty" surrounding President Donald Trump's latest travel restrictions, the largest school board in Canada said it won't be booking future trips to the United States. John Malloy, director of education for the school board, said in a statement Thursday, the Toronto District School Board announced it would bar new trips to the U.S. because of "uncertainty surrounding these new restrictions -- specifically with regards to who may be impacted and when.

(c)2017 the Houston Chronicle

Caroline Cournoyer is GOVERNING's senior web editor.
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