Washingtonvtrump Complaint

1

2

3 4 5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14 15

16

17

18

19 20 21

22

23

24 25

26 ROBERT W. FERGUSON

WSBA #26004 Attorney General

NOAH G. PURCELL

WSBA #43492 Solicitor General

COLLEEN M. MELODY

WSBA #42275

Civil Rights Unit Chief

Office of the Attorney General 800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104 206-464-7744

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

STATE OF WASHINGTON,

CIVIL ACTION NO.

Plaintiff,

DONALD TRUMP, in his official

capacity as President of the United

States; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF (HOMELAND SECURITY; JOHN F.

KELLY, in his official capacity as

Secretary of the Department of

Homeland Security; TOM SHANNON,

in his official capacity as Acting

Secretary of State; and the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

COMPLAINT FOR DECLARATORY AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF

Defendants.

I. INTRODUCTION

1.

The State of Washington ( State ) brings this action to protect the State—

including its residents, its employers, and its educational institutions—against illegal actions of the President and the federal government. The President's Executive Order of January 27, 2017 ( the Executive Order ), is separating Washington families, harming thousands of Washington

residents, damaging Washington's economy, hurting Washington-based companies, and

COMPLAINT

1

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF WASHINGTON

800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188

(206)464-7744

Case 2:17-cv-00141-JLR Document 1 Filed 01/30/17 Page 1 of 14

1

undermining Washington's sovereign interest in remaining a welcoming place for immigrants

2

and refugees. The Court should invalidate the portions of the Executive Order challenged here.

3

II.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

4

2. The Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331 and 2201(a).

5

3.

Venue is proper in this district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1391(b)(2) and

6

1391(e)(1). Defendants are United States agencies or officers sued in their official capacities,

7

and a substantial part of the events or omissions giving rise to this claim occurred in King

8

County, within the Western District of Washington.

9

III. PARTIES

10

4.

The Governor is the chief executive officer of the State. The Governor is

11

responsible for overseeing the operations of the State and ensuring that its laws are faithfully

12

executed.

13

5.

The Attorney General is the chief legal adviser to the State. The Attorney

14

General's powers and duties include acting in federal court on matters of public concern.

5

6.

The State has declared that practices that discriminate against any of its

16

inhabitants because of race, creed, color, or national origin are matters of public concern that

17

threaten the rights and proper privileges of the State and harm the public welfare, health, and

18

peace of the people.

See

Wash. Rev. Code 49.60.010.

19 7.

The State's interest in protecting the health, safety, and well-being of its

20

residents, including protecting its residents from harms to their physical or economic health, is

21

a quasi-sovereign interest.

22 8.

The State also has an interest in ensuring that its residents are not excluded from

23

the benefits that flow from participation in the federal system, including the rights and

24 privileges provided by the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

25

26

COMPLAINT

2


800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188 206)464-7744


I

9.

The State's interest in preventing and remedying injuries to the public's health,

2

safety, and well-being extends to all of the State's residents, including individuals who suffer

indirect injuries and members of the general public.

10. According to the most current American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau, as of 2015, approximately 7,280 non-citizen immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Syria,

Somalia, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen reside in the State of Washington-1,409 Iranian

immigrants, 2,275 Iraqi immigrants, 360 Libyan immigrants, 2,883 Somalian immigrants, 165

Sudanese immigrants, and 187 Syrian immigrants.

11. Immigration is an important economic driver in Washington. Many workers in Washington's technology industry are immigrants, and many of those immigrant workers are

from Muslim-majority countries. Immigrant and refugee-owned businesses employ 140,000 people in Washington. Many companies in Washington are dependent on foreign workers to

operate and grow their businesses. 12.

The technology industry relies heavily on the H-1B visa program, through

which highly skilled workers like software engineers are permitted to work in the United States. Washington ranks ninth in the U.S. by number of applications for high-tech visas.

Microsoft, a corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, is the State's top employer

of high-tech—or H-1B visa holders and employs nearly 5,000 people through the program.

Other Washington-based companies, including Amazon, Expedia, and Starbucks, employ

thousands of H-1B visa holders.

13.

The market for highly skilled workers and leaders in the technology industry is

extremely competitive. Changes to U.S. immigration policy that restrict the flow of people may

inhibit these companies' ability to adequately staff their research and development efforts and recruit talent from overseas. If recruiting efforts are less successful, these companies' abilities

to develop and deliver successful products and services may be adversely affected.

26

COMPLAINT

3


800 Fifth Avenue, Suite 2000 Seattle, WA 98104-3188

206)464-7744

3

4 5

6 7

8

9 10

11 12 13

14

15

16 17

18

19

20

21

22 23 24

25


Interests

Browse by

Washingtonvtrump Complaint

Related

Similar to State of Washington Complaint

More From This User