WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Roderick and Solange MacArthur Justice Center urged federal courts in Hawaii and Maryland to approve requests for a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of President Trump’s latest executive order banning visas for people from six Muslim-majority countries.

“President Trump’s latest Executive Order, which attempts to follow through on his animus and promises, must be viewed in light of President Trump’s public, repeated, and unabashed admission of an intent to discriminate—the most fundamental abuse of government power that the Establishment and Equal Protection Clauses exist to prevent,” state the amicus briefs filed by the MacArthur Justice Center.

Drawing a comparison to the U.S. government’s internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, the briefs argue: “The Government’s contention that such Executive action is unreviewable, or entitled to great deference due to its relation to immigration and national security, not only conflicts with United States Supreme Court precedent, but is painfully reminiscent of arguments made by the Government to justify racial discrimination and oppression in moments of our history that we now all regard with shame.”

“We have urged the Court not to ignore President Trump’s extensive record of hatred toward people of the Muslim faith and his promises to use the Presidency to curtail their rights, including by preventing Muslims from entering the United States,” said Amir Ali, Supreme Court and Appellate Counsel in the MacArthur Justice Center’s Washington, D.C., office. “The Constitution protects vulnerable minority communities from such invidious discrimination, and assigns to the courts the responsibility to intervene.”