WASHINGTON – This afternoon, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement as the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments later today on President Trump’s travel ban on people entering the United States from Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

“Throughout his campaign for President, Donald Trump promised that, if elected, he would ban Muslims from entering the United States.  So, we shouldn’t be surprised that he’s attempting to do just that now that he’s in the White House,” said Senator Coons.  “This travel ban is unconstitutional and does not make us safer.  It violates both the letter and the spirit of our nation’s most important founding principles.  I’m encouraged that each of President Trump’s attempts to implement a ‘Muslim ban’ have been rejected by federal judges, and I hope the Fourth Circuit will do the same."

On April 19 and 21, 2017, 165 members of Congress, led by Senator Coons and Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) filed friend-of-the-court briefs in, respectively, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, supporting those challenging President Trump’s travel and refugee ban.  District court judges in both cases have preliminarily enjoined implementation of the ban, and Trump has appealed. The Fourth Circuit has ordered the appeal to be heard by the full court, and is scheduled to hear oral argument in IRAP v. Trump today.  A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit is scheduled to hear oral argument in State of Hawaii v. Trump on Monday, May 15, 2017. 

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