WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, released the following statement Thursday regarding the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the suspension of President Trump’s immigration orders will stay in place. Senator Cardin signed onto an amicus brief with other Members of Congress in the case of IRAP v. Trump, which was an appeal from the decision of U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in the District of Maryland (Greenbelt).  Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include HIAS, a Silver Spring-based refugee and relief organization, which hosted a community roundtable discussion with Senator Cardin in March on immigration and refugee issues.

“Again and again, the federal courts are signaling to the White House a real need for the President to immediately rescind his discriminatory executive order targeting Muslim refugees and travelers. Even while stayed by the courts, President Trump’s executive orders have made America less safe, damaged our relationships with our allies, and harmed countless numbers of law-abiding citizens, travelers, and their families. America is a compassionate nation steeped with a history of immigrants and refugees.”

“Today the Fourth Circuit provided a valuable check and balance on the President’s authority. The court correctly pointed out that the President’s Executive Order ‘speaks with vague words of national security, but in context drips with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination’ which violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.  No American president is above the law, and the President should now move on to a more viable and legal pathway to immigration reform that protects our nation and upholds American values.”

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