US Washington state Governor Jay Inslee said at a news conference in Seattle on Monday that Trump's executive order on immigration discriminates against religious groups.
"The clear import, the clear intent of this executive order is to discriminate against one faith amongst all God's children," Inslee stated.
Inslee said that the executive order was "an unconscionable religious test" that was unconstitutional and its impact would be considered "cruelty."
"Its intent is to open the gates to Christian refugees and to slam the gates closed on those who follow the religion of Islam," Inslee emphasized.
At the same press conference on Monday, Bob Ferguson announced the state of Washington had filed the first lawsuit to invalidate Trump's recent executive order on immigration.
"This is obviously the actual litigation moving forward and it is obviously my hope that as we go forward, other states will join us," Ferguson stated.
Ferguson pointed out the lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order on Trump's executive order from being implemented, calling the travel ban unconstitutional, un-American and unlawful.
If successful, Ferguson added, the lawsuit would invalidate Trump's executive order nationwide.
In 2015, Congress passed a law — the Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act — that restricted travel visas for citizens from states of concern such as Syria, Iran, Iraq and the Sudan, including any other country or area of concern.
In early 2016, the Department of Homeland Security unilaterally extended the restrictions to Yemen, Somalia and Libya.
