On Jan. 30, the state
of Washington filed the first lawsuit against Trump and his administration
regarding the executive order. Filed by Washington state Attorney
General Bob Ferguson, the suit accuses the Trump administration of violating
the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection, the First Amendment's establishment
clause, the right to due process and the federal Immigration and Nationality
Act. The suit cites Washington state-headquartered companies, such as
Redmond-based Microsoft, whose operations
and recruitment will be adversely affected by the ban. The complaint reads:
Microsoft's U.S.
workforce is heavily dependent on immigrants and guest workers. At least 76
employees at Microsoft are citizens of Iran, Iraq, Syria, Somalia, Sudan,
Libya, or Yemen and hold U.S. temporary work visas. There may be other
employees with permanent-resident status or green cards. These employees may be
banned from re-entering the U.S. if they travel overseas or to the company's
offices in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The complaint continues with Amazon and Expedia:
Seattle-based company
Amazon also employs workers from every corner of the world. Amazon's employees,
dependents of employees, and candidates for employment with Amazon have been
impacted by the Executive Order that is the subject of this Complaint. Amazon
has advised such employees currently in the United States to refrain from
travel outside the United States.
Bellevue-based company
Expedia operates a domestic and foreign travel business. At the time of this
filing, Expedia has approximately 1,000 customers with existing flight
reservations in or out of the United States who hold passports from Iran, Iraq,
Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, or Yemen. The executive orders restrict business,
increase business costs, and impact current employees and employers.
Amazon and Expedia additionally have filed declarations in
support of the lawsuit. Amazon's, signed by senior manager of mobility and
immigration Ayesha Blackwell-Hawkins, cites 49 employees who have visas allowing
work in the U.S. and who are affected by the travel ban. One of them, a U.K.
lawyer who was born
in Libya but has been a U.K. citizen for years, had plans to travel to the U.S. for business in February. "We have instructed
the employee to cancel her plans and remain in the U.K. rather than risk being denied entry to the United States," the declaration said.
The declaration also cites 10 dependents of Amazon employees born in one of the
countries
identified
in the executive
order
but living in the U.S. lawfully via H-1B, L-1B, E-3, LPR, F-1 OPT and TN visas. According to Amazon:
We reached out to impacted Amazon employees and dependents and recommended that they refrain
from travel outside of the United States until further notice. Further,we have advised any such individuals who are living outside of the United States,with current plans to visit the US for business or personal reasons, to cancel those plans
until the entry restrictions are lifted.
Amazon also cites seven employment candidates who were born in Iran but are
citizens of Germany, Canada and Australia. The declaration states that Amazon
is looking at alternatives that would place them in office locations outside
the U.S.
The declaration from online travel agency
Expedia, which is the parent company of online corporate travel agency Egencia,
reads:
As
of January 29, 2017, at least 1,000 Expedia customers who hold passports issued
by one of the seven impacted countries have purchased current itineraries that
involve flights to, from or through the United States. Almost 500 of the
flights have a U.S. origin, over 500 have a U.S. destination, and approximately
30 have connections in the United States. … Expedia is in the process of
contacting all affected travelers and continues to incur costs to monitor the
impacts of the Executive Order and determine how best to take care of its
customers around the globe.
Expedia's declaration goes on to cite the
uncertainty around the executive order and how that will continue to affect its
business. It also claims the order "has restrained Expedia employees'
ability to travel freely, for professional or business purposes," and
cited Expedia's notice to all employees from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan,
Syria and Yemen who are living in the U.S. It told those employees to refrain
from travel until further notice. The company has identified two employees who
would be at risk for not being re-admitted to the U.S. "[They] are unable
to travel freely abroad to conduct business or their personal affairs,"
according to the document.
Ferguson said in a press conference on Monday
that, if successful, Washington state's suit would "have the effect of
invalidating the President's unlawful action nationwide." He also is
seeking a temporary restraining order to "immediately halt" the
implementation of the executive order.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration issued clarification around
permanent U.S. residents with green cards. Earlier this week, the
administration had stated that entry for such residents would be considered on
a case-by-case basis. Wednesday's clarification from White House spokesman Sean
Spicer, however, stated, "They
no longer need a waiver because if they are a legal permanent resident, they
won't need it anymore." The statuses of travelers
with work and student visas remain unclear.