Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco in support of a lawsuit challenging the federal Executive Orders on immigration as illegal and unconstitutional. “Our country was built by immigrants and refugees who came here in search of a better life,” Madigan said. “Illinois is home to nearly 2 million immigrants who contribute to our state in invaluable ways. I will fight to ensure Illinois remains a safe and welcome home for immigrants and refugees.” Madigan filed the brief together with attorneys general from 15 other states and the District of Columbia in State of Washington and State of Minnesota v. Donald Trump. Madigan and the attorneys general urged the Appellate Court to uphold the temporary restraining order blocking key parts of the executive action, pointing to the damage that will be caused to individual states.

The brief states that the Executive Orders barring entry into the United States of individuals who are nationals from seven majority-Muslim countries, including people who hold valid U.S. visas for work, study and travel “hinders the free exchange of information, ideas, and talent between the affected countries and the States, including at the States’ many educational institutions; harms the States’ life sciences, technology, health care, finance and other industries, as well as innumerable small businesses throughout the States; and will inflict economic harm on the States themselves.” Attorney General Madigan has condemned the Executive Orders as unconstitutional, un-American and unlawful. She also has issued a letter to Illinois Governor Rauner urging him and his administration to fight the executive orders and protect Illinois immigrants and refugees from discrimination and hate crimes. Madigan also issued advice to immigrants that they may be targets of scam artists and unscrupulous immigration services providers who illegally pose as lawyers or demand excessive upfront fees for assistance in the wake of the executive actions. The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit has already denied the administration’s request for an immediate suspension of a district court’s temporary restraining order that blocked the implementation of key portions of the executive orders on immigration.