Dozens of cities, tech companies file challenge to Trump’s travel ban

With President Donald Trump’s new travel ban set to take effect Thursday morning, 24 cities and more than 50 tech companies have filed amicus briefs in Seattle to challenge the restrictive executive order.

The modified order now restricts immigrants from six majority-Muslim nations — Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen —from entering the United States for 90 days, and puts a 120-day moratorium on refugees from entering the country. Previously, Iraq was on that list, too.

While the same federal judge in Seattle who blocked Trump’s original travel ban last month hears new challenges Wednesday, opposition has flooded in.

The mayors of Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles,New York City, San Francisco and Philadelphia are among the those who filed the friend of court brief, which explains immigrants’ “vital contributions” to the nations, according a statement from Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney’s office.

Also joining the brief are Central Falls, Rhode Island; Gary, Indiana; Jersey City, New Jersey; Madison, Wisconsin, Minneapolis; Montgomery County, Maryland; Oakland, California; Portland, Oregon; St. Paul, Minnesota; San Diego; San Jose, California; Santa Clara County, California; Santa Monica, California; Seattle; Skokie, Illinois; South Bend, Indiana; and West Hollywood, California.

“I’m proud that Philadelphia has joined with other cities throughout our nation to oppose the revised travel ban,” Miriam Enriquez, Philadelphia’s director of Immigrant Affairs, said in a statement. “This reinforces Philadelphia’s commitment to protecting our immigrant and refugee communities, and to being a welcoming city to all.”

Meanwhile, powerhouses in Silicon Valley have filed a similar amicus brief against the order in Hawaii, where a lawsuit currently seeks to block the federal government from implementing the ban.

Fifty-eight companies, including Airbnb, Wikipedia, Lyft, Glassdoor, Imgur, Indiegogo, Kickstarter, Shutterstock, Pinterest, Postmates and Warby Parker filed a brief that hails immigrants as the powerhouse in America’s economy.

“The technological and scientific breakthroughs that fuel the economic engine of the country — search, cloud computing, social media, artificial intelligence, faster and faster microprocessors, the Internet of Everything, reusable spacecraft — were all made possible by the ingenuity and invention of newcomers to America, including Muslims from across the world,” the brief states. “Never in modern American history has that infusion of talent and passion and creativity been stanched, as it is vital to the lifeblood of our economy. Never, until now.”

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The president signed a revision to the original controversial order — which called for travel bans from seven Muslim-majority nations — on March 6, more than a month after federal judges struck down the first attempt.