States, tech firms file arguments against Trump immigration ban while Trump tweets more insults

Early Monday, Washington State and Minnesota filed their arguments to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in their push to block President Trump's executive order temporarily banning travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations and all refugees. U.S. District Judge James Robart in Seattle blocked the order's two main provisions on Friday night, and on Saturday night, two judges on the 9th Circuit bench rejected a Justice Department request to throw out the stay, giving the states until early Monday to file their argument and the Trump administration until Monday afternoon to respond.

Reinstating Trump's ban would "unleash chaos again," the states argued, adding that Trump's order violates the Constitution and harms their residents, universities, and companies. Judge Robart, a George W. Bush appointee, made the stay applicable nationwide, he wrote, because Congress thinks "the immigration laws of the United States should be enforced vigorously and uniformly," citing an appellate court ruling favoring Texas in a fight against former President Barack Obama. The Department of Homeland Security complied, reauthorizing visas and allowing in vetted refugees.

A group of big tech companies — including Apple, Google, and Uber — filed briefs on Sunday night in support of Washington state, arguing that Trump's ban harmed their business by making it harder to recruit employees and prompting companies to build operations outside the U.S. A group of Democratic former officials also filed a brief in support of Washington state's case on Sunday night, with former Secretaries of State John Kerry and Madeleine Albright plus former CIA Director Leon Panetta and others arguing that Trump's order harms America's national security.

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Trump administration officials and DOJ lawyers have argued that the president has broad authority to keep certain groups out of the U.S. if he deems it in the national interest, insisting that judges have no right to second-guess the president on issues of national security. Trump, meanwhile, shot off a second volley of personal tweets aimed at Robart from his Mar-a-Lago estate on Sunday, accusing the judge of putting the U.S. "in such peril" and warning: "If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!"