On February 9, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously maintained the stay on President Donald Trump’s executive order regarding immigration seven Muslim-majority countries. This executive order barred refugees and citizens from these countries from entering the United States. Constitutional attorney Paul Cambria spoke to WBEN about the executive order and what the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals may have considered as factors in their decision. The full interview is available on the WBEN website.
Several issues at play
Mr. Cambria was asked what the judges could have been keeping in mind as they made their decision and how much both the constitutionality of the ban and the effect it would have on national security were considered. He responded that there were many technical issues at play.
“They have to start off with standing; that is, does a state have the right to stand in the place of citizens—here, immigrants—against the federal government?,” Mr. Cambria explained. He went on to say that there may have been a question regarding whether or not “Title VIII, the Immigration Statute, specifically give[s] the President the power to do this and, if so, did the […] President establish that they had a basis to feel that there was some danger necessary to put this ban in place.”
Supreme Court ruling could take weeks
WBEN asked Mr. Cambria if and when he expects the issue to go to the Supreme Court. “I think immediately there will be a petition filed with the Supreme Court on an expedited basis and the Court would hear it in short order,” he responded. “The way the Supreme Court works [is that] there’s a judge from the Supreme Court assigned to all the districts around the country,” Mr. Cambria explained. “So they’ll first go to that judge and then that judge will make an in term ruling and then it will go to the full Supreme Court. So you’re still talking weeks, probably, before you could have any kind of definitive ruling,” Mr. Cambria explained.
About Paul J. Cambria, Jr.
The chair of Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria’s Criminal Defense Trials and Appeals Practice Area, Mr. Cambria advises clients on criminal trials, criminal appeals, constitutional and First Amendment law, zoning and land use, antitrust, and professional licensing defense. He divides his time between the firm’s offices in Buffalo and Los Angeles.