Along with Trump's order — which was largely a surprise to most of the federal agencies tasked with enforcing and vetting it, including the Dept. of Homeland Security, the Dept. of Justice and the State Dept. — protests continue at airports and elsewhere across the country. Federal agents are reportedly ignoring multiple federal court orders, and elected officials and legal scholars (even some on the Right) are condemning the order as unlawful and/or unconstitutional. ISIS-supporters, however, are "celebrating" Trump's order, which they reportedly regard as a "blessed" victory for their cause.
Some observers suggest the order — which is separating families from loved ones, and undermining the efforts of many who have supported American efforts for years in the countries on the ban list — may well develop into a full blown Constitutional crisis. All of which Trump described over the weekend as "working out very nicely". And, as today's show wrapped up, the Acting U.S. Attorney General, a hold-over from the Obama Administration, announced the DoJ would not defend the order in court.
One of the lawsuits she says the department will not defend against was filed this afternoon by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and is being described as "the biggest lawsuit yet filed against Donald Trump's immigration order".
CAIR's National Litigation Director, Lena F. Masri, Esq., joins us on today's show, just hours after the suit was filed with the aim of completely blocking what the group describes as an unlawful and unconstitutional "Muslim Exclusion Order" meant to result in Trump's campaign promise for "a total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States".
"This Executive Order very clearly targets the Muslim community," Masri explains in describing the complaint and its 20 or so plaintiffs, some of which are anonymous because they "will likely face persecution, torture and even execution" if they are sent back to their home countries. "This impacts us all as Americans," she tells me, "and that is the reason why this this order is so dangerous and why, as Americans, we need to stand up and oppose this order."
Also today: California threatens to push back against Trump's order concerning "sanctuary cities", and they've got the pocketbook to do so if they wanted to.
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