Hawai'i v. Trump

• Decision Date: 15 March 2017
• Docket Number: CV. NO. 17–00050 DKW–KSC
• Citation: 241 F.Supp.3d 1119
• Parties: State of HAWAI'I and Ismail Elshikh, Plaintiffs, v. Donald J. TRUMP, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Hawaii

241 F.Supp.3d 1119

State of HAWAI'I and Ismail Elshikh, Plaintiffs,

v.Donald J. TRUMP, et al., Defendants.

CV. NO. 17–00050 DKW–KSC

United States District Court, D. Hawai‘i.

Signed March 15, 2017

Alexander Bowerman, Sara Solow, Hogan Lovells U.S. L.L.P., Philadelphia, PA, Clyde J. Wadsworth, Deirdre Marie-Iha, Kimberly T. Guidry, Robert T. Nakatsuji, Office of the Attorney General, Honolulu, HI, Colleen Roh Sinzdak, Hogan Lovells U.S. L.L.P., Washington, DC, Donna H. Kalama, State of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, Douglas S.G. Chin, Attorney General of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, Elizabeth Hagerty, Mitchell Reich, Neal Katyal, Hogan Lovells U.S. L.L.P., Washington, DC, Thomas Schmidt, Hogan Lovells U.S. L.L.P., New York, NY, for Plaintiff.

Brad P. Rosenberg, Washington, DC, Daniel Schwei, Jeffrey B. Wall, Michelle R. Bennett, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, Edric Ming-Kai Ching, Florence T. Nakakuni, Office of the United States Attorney, Honolulu, HI, for Defendant.

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER

Derrick K. Watson, United States District Judge

INTRODUCTION

On January 27, 2017, the President of the United States issued Executive Order No. 13,769 entitled, " Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States." See 82 Fed. Reg. 8977 (Jan. 27, 2017). On March 6, 2017, the President issued another Executive Order, No. 13,780, identically entitled, " Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States." (the "Executive Order"). See 82 Fed. Reg. 13209 (Mar. 6, 2017). The Executive Order revokes Executive Order No. 13,769 upon taking effect.¹ Exec. Order §§ 13, 14. Like its predecessor, the Executive Order restricts the entry of foreign nationals from specified countries and suspends entrants from the United States refugee program for specified periods of time.

Plaintiffs State of Hawai'i ("State") and Ismail Elshikh, Ph.D. seek a nationwide temporary restraining order that would prohibit the Federal Defendants² from "enforcing or implementing Sections 2 and 6 of the Executive Order" before it takes effect. Pls.' Mot. for TRO 4, Mar. 8, 2017, ECF No. 65.³ Upon evaluation of the parties' submissions, and following a hearing on March 15, 2017, the Court concludes that, on the record before it, Plaintiffs have met their burden of establishing a strong likelihood of success on the merits of their Establishment Clause claim, that irreparable injury is likely if the requested relief is not issued, and that the balance of the equities and public interest counsel in favor of granting the requested relief. Accordingly, Plaintiffs' Motion for TRO (ECF. No. 65) is granted for the reasons detailed below.

BACKGROUND

I. The President's Executive Orders

A. Executive Order No. 13,769

Executive Order No. 13,769 became effective upon signing on January 27, 2017. See 82 Fed. Reg. 8977. It inspired several lawsuits across the nation in the days that followed.⁴ Among those lawsuits was this one: On February 3, 2017, the State filed its complaint and an initial motion for TRO, which sought to enjoin, nationwide, Sections 3(c), 5(a)–(c), and 5(e) of Executive Order No. 13,769. Pls.' Mot. for TRO, Feb. 3, 2017, ECF No. 2.

This Court did not rule on the State's initial TRO motion because later that same day, the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington entered a nationwide preliminary injunction enjoining the Government from enforcing the same provisions of Executive Order No. 13,769 targeted by the State here. See Washington v. Trump , 2017 WL 462040. As such, the Court stayed this case, effective February 7, 2017, specifying that the stay would continue "as long as the February 3, 2017 injunction entered in Washington v. Trump remain[ed] in full force and effect, or until further order of this Court." ECF Nos. 27 & 32.

On February 4, 2017, the Government filed an emergency motion in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals seeking a stay of the Washington TRO, pending appeal.⁵ See Washington v. Trump , No. 17–35105, 691 Fed.Appx. 834, 2017 WL 469608 (9th Cir. Feb. 4, 2017). The Ninth Circuit heard oral argument on February 7, after which it denied the emergency motion via written Order dated February 9, 2017. See Case No. 17–35105, ECF Nos. 125 (Tr. of Hr'g), 134 (Filed Order for Publication at 847 F.3d 1151).

On March 8, 2017, the Ninth Circuit granted the Government's unopposed motion to voluntarily dismiss the appeal. See Order, No. 17–35105 (9th Cir. Mar. 8, 2017), ECF No. 187. As a result, the same sections of Executive Order No. 13,769 initially challenged by the State in the instant action remain enjoined as of the date of this Order.

B. The New Executive Order

Section 2 of the new Executive Order suspends from "entry into the United States" for a period of 90 days, certain nationals of six countries referred to in Section 217(a)(12) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA"), 8 U.S.C. § 1101 et seq. : Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.⁶ 8 U.S.C. § 1187(a)(12) ; Exec. Order § 2(c). The suspension of entry applies to nationals of these six countries who (1) are outside the United States on the new Executive Order's effective date of March 16, 2017; (2) do not have a valid visa on that date, and (3) did not have a valid visa as of 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 27, 2017 (the date of the prior Executive Order, No. 13,769 ). Exec. Order § 3(a).

The 90–day suspension does not apply to: (1) lawful permanent residents; (2) any foreign national admitted to or paroled into the United States on or after the Executive Order's effective date (March 16, 2017); (3) any individual who has a document other than a visa, valid on the effective date of the Executive Order or issued anytime thereafter, that permits travel to the United States, such as an advance parole document; (4) any dual national traveling on a passport not issued by one of the six listed countries; (5) any foreign national traveling on a diplomatic-type or other specified visa; and (6) any foreign national who has been granted asylum, any refugee already admitted to the United States, or any individual granted withholding of removal, advance parole, or protection under the Convention Against Torture. See Exec. Order § 3(b).

Under Section 3(c)'s waiver provision, foreign nationals of the six countries who are subject to the suspension of entry may nonetheless seek entry on a case-by-case basis. The Executive Order includes the following list of circumstances when such waivers "could be appropriate:"

(i) the foreign national has previously been admitted to the United States for a continuous period of work, study, or other longterm activity, is outside the United States on the effective date of the Order, seeks to reenter the United States to resume that activity, and denial of reentry during the suspension period would impair that activity;

(ii) the foreign national has previously established significant contacts with the United States but is outside the United States on the effective date of the Order for work, study, or other lawful activity;

(iii) the foreign national seeks to enter the United States for significant business or professional obligations and the denial of entry during the suspension period would impair those obligations;

(iv) the foreign national seeks to enter the United States to visit a close family member (e.g., a spouse, child, or parent) who is a United States citizen, lawful permanent resident, or alien lawfully admitted on a valid nonimmigrant visa, and the denial of entry during the suspension period would cause undue hardship;

(v) the foreign national is an infant, a young child or adoptee, an individual needing urgent medical care, or someone whose entry is otherwise justified by the special circumstances of the case;

(vi) the foreign national has been employed by, or on behalf of, the United States Government (or is an eligible dependent of such an employee) and the employee can document that he or she has provided faithful and valuable service to the United States Government;

(vii) the foreign national is traveling for purposes related to an international organization designated under the International Organizations Immunities Act (IOAI), 22 U.S.C. § 288 et seq., traveling for purposes of conducting meetings or business with the United States Government, or traveling to conduct business on behalf of an international organization not designated under IOIA;

(viii) the foreign national is a landed Canadian immigrant who applies for admission at a land border port of entry or a preclearance location located in Canada; or

(ix) the foreign national is traveling as a United States Government sponsored exchange visitor.

Exec. Order § 3(c).

Section 6 of the Executive Order suspends the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program for 120 days. The suspension applies both to travel into the United States and to decisions on applications for refugee status for the same period. See Exec. Order § 6(a). It excludes refugee applicants who were formally scheduled for transit by the Department of State before the March 16, 2017 effective date. Like the 90–day suspension, the 120–day suspension includes a waiver provision that allows the Secretaries of State and DHS to admit refugee applicants on a case-by-case basis. See Exec. Order § 6(c). The Executive Order identifies examples of circumstances in which waivers may be warranted, including: where the admission of the individual would allow the United States to conform its conduct to a pre-existing international agreement or denying admission would cause undue hardship. Exec. Order § 6(c). Unlike Executive Order No. 13,769, the new Executive Order does not expressly refer to an individual's status as a "religious minority" or refer to any particular religion, and it does not include a Syria-specific ban on refugees.

Section 1 states that the purpose of the Executive Order is to "protect [United States] citizens from terrorist attacks, including...