The City of Madison signed onto an amicus brief opposing President Donald Trump’s immigration ban Friday, joining 33 other municipalities across the nation.
Alongside cities such as New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, Madison signed the brief to challenge Trump’s executive order that places travel restrictions on seven Muslim-majority countries.
The 34 cities and counties that filed the brief represent roughly 23 million Americans.
The municipalities filed the amicus brief in Darweesh v. Trump, in the Eastern District of New York. Hameed Darweesh, the person named in the suit, is an Iraqi citizen who was detained in January despite holding a valid U.S. work visa.
“The Order would bar our residents from returning home, block their loved ones from visiting, and turn back refugees we would have welcomed into our communities,” the brief reads. “These deprivations offend the values of our cities and would inflict deep wounds on our most basic institutions.”
Mayor Paul Soglin echoed the sentiments of other municipal leaders, stating that Madison supports its immigrant community.
"We are confident - confident in our Constitution, confident in our legal position, confident in our diverse immigrant community,” Soglin said in a statement. “We are confident in our efforts to thwart the chaos, foolishness and cruelty fostered by President Trump."
