State of Washington, et al., v. Trump., et al
Filing
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MOTION for Leave to File Service Employees Internationsl Union's Motion for Leave to File Amicus Curiae Brief, filed by Amicus Service Employees International Union. (Attachments: # 1 Proposed Order, # 2 Exhibit A (SEIU's Amicus Brief)) Noting Date 2/2/2017, (Berman, Steve)
Exhibit A
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THE HONORABLE JAMES L. ROBART
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT SEATTLE
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STATE OF WASHINGTON,
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Plaintiff,
No. 2:17-cv-00141-JLR
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v.
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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,
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BRIEF OF THE SERVICE EMPLOYEES
INTERNATIONAL UNION AS AMICUS
CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF PLAINTIFF
STATE OF WASHINGTON
Defendants.
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The Service Employees International Union (“SEIU”) respectfully submits this amicus
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curiae brief in support of Plaintiff State of Washington’s Motion for a Temporary Restraining
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Order (“Motion”)1 seeking to enjoin portions of President Donald J. Trump’s January 27, 2017
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Executive Order banning entry into the United States of individuals based on national origin
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(“Executive Order”).
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I.
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INTRODUCTION
The profoundly adverse and discriminatory effects of the Executive Order are already
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wreaking havoc on the State of Washington and its residents—including SEIU members.
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Because the Executive Order bans individuals from seven predominately Muslim countries from
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entering the United States, and is plainly driven by animus against Muslims, the Executive Order
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violates the Constitution’s ban on discrimination based on national origin and religion. The
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Executive Order cannot satisfy even the deferential rational basis test, as it does nothing to
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further its purported goal of protecting the U.S. from terrorist attacks. Heavily-vetted children
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fleeing war-torn countries pose no more threat of terrorism to this country than did Jewish people
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fleeing Czarist Russia. The Executive Order also violates the Due Process Clause of the
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Constitution by denying lawful permanent residents and visa-holders the ability to enter
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Washington without notice and the opportunity to be heard, and others of the statutory right to
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seek asylum. Finally, the Executive Order violates the Immigration and Nationality Act’s
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prohibition on discrimination in the issuance of visas based on nationality, place of birth, or
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place of residence.2 Consistent with our nation’s laws, the Executive Order cannot stand.
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The SEIU respectfully urges that the Court grant the State of Washington’s Motion in
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order to prevent the ongoing harm to the State, its businesses, and its citizenry. The SEIU writes
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to further document the immediate and irreparable harm to its Washington State members and
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their families and communities. As the illustrative examples demonstrate, the Executive Order
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(if allowed to stand) will impose immediate and irreparable harm to hard-working Washington
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residents who have played by the rules and pose no threat to the safety of this country’s citizens.
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ECF No. 3.
8 U.S.C. § 1152(a)(1)(A).
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II.
STATEMENT OF INTEREST OF AMICUS CURIAE
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The Service Employees International Union (“SEIU”) is an international labor
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organization representing approximately two million working men and women in the United
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States and Canada employed in the private and public sectors. Many of the SEIU’s members are
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foreign-born U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or immigrants authorized to work in the
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United States. Many of SEIU’s members have mixed-status families. SEIU has members who
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are directly affected by the Executive Order barring entry into the United States based on
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national origin.
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III.
ARGUMENT
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The impact of the Executive Order on the SEIU and its members is profound and
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highlights the State’s pressing interest in protecting its citizens and preserving its tax base.3 The
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SEIU has over 118,000 members in Washington State in five local chapters, including the Public
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School Employees of Washington (representing over 28,600 public school employees); SEIU
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Healthcare 1199NW (over 29,000 nurses and healthcare workers across the state); SEIU Local
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775 (over 40,000 long-term care workers providing in-home and nursing home care in
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Washington and Montana); SEIU Local 6 (over 4,000 janitors, security officers, stadium and
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airport workers); and SEIU Local 925 (17,000 education, governmental, and non-profit workers).
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A large percentage of these workers are immigrants. For example, more than 40% of
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SEIU Local 6’s members are immigrants. The Executive Order will accordingly have an
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enormous impact on them. As the SEIU chapter states on its website: “Among the members of
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SEIU Healthcare 1199NW are countless immigrants and refugees, green card holders and legal
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permanent residents, who care for our community’s patients and mental health clients every
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day. [President] Trump’s order means these caregivers face travel bans, could be unable to
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reunite with families, and will face more hate and discrimination in our community.”4
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SEIU members work in industries that touch Washington residents’ daily lives. They
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help educate the State’s children, care for the State’s elderly and infirm, keep the schools and
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See Plaintiff State of Washington’s Supplemental Brief Regarding Standing (ECF No. 17) (“Supp. Brief”) at
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See http://www.seiu1199nw.org/2017/01/29/standing-up-for-immigrants-and-refugees.
2-3.
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buildings clean and secure, and—ironically enough—facilitate air travel in and out of the State.
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The impact on the State from losing these workers is self-evident, and the Executive Order
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makes the State less secure and less prosperous as long as it stays in effect—and the State is
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obliged to protect the safety and prosperity of its residents. The risk and danger to SEIU
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members posed by the Executive Order, and the corresponding negative impacts on the State, are
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concrete and immediate. Many of SEIU’s members have recounted their stories to SEIU staff.
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These individuals are fearful and do not want to reveal their identity. Therefore, the illustrative
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stories recounted here are verified through the Declaration of Trisha Pande, submitted herewith:
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1.
Sara
Sara is a 33-year-old registered nurse and member of SEIU 1199NW. She lives
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in Seattle with her four children. She came to the U.S. from Somalia when she was 12
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years old. Both Sara and her parents are U.S. citizens; however, almost all of her
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extended family lives in Somalia.
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Sara is adversely impacted by the Executive Order because her legitimate fear
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prevents her from travelling back to Somalia to visit her family. She has spent most of
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her life in the U.S. and considers this her home and her country. Sara is now afraid that
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if she leaves the U.S. she will not be able to get back in. Sara is also worried that her
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relatives will never be able to come to the U.S. and visit her and her children.
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Sara’s father is currently in Somalia visiting her grandmother. Her father is a
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diabetic and while he was in Somalia developed a bad foot infection. His treatment in
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Somalia did not go very well and he needs to return to the U.S. for medical treatment.
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Sara fears that her father, even though a U.S. citizen, will get detained trying to re-enter
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the U.S. He is a senior citizen and in need of immediate medical attention and will face
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serious health risks if he is detained.
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2.
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Dasin
Dasin was born in Iraq and lived there until 2012. He is Muslim. His father and
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uncle both worked for the U.S. Army in Iraq for about four years. Dasin helped his
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father and uncle while they were working for the U.S. Army. When the U.S. Army left
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Iraq it was very dangerous for Dasin and his family. ISIS planted a bomb in front of
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Dasin’s home. The bomb exploded, injuring Dasin in the face and neck. After he
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recovered, Dasin and his family went to Turkey as refugees. Dasin had trouble finding
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work in Turkey because he was a refugee and faced discrimination.
Dasin came to the U.S. in 2013 and now lives in Seattle, Washington with his four
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siblings and his parents. He went to high school and graduated in 2015. He now works
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part-time as a dispatcher for a large company and part-time as a drive. Dasin is
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impacted by the Executive Order because he has many family members in Iraq that he
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can no longer see. Dasin’s family hoped to bring over Dasin’s grandfather,
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grandmother, and uncle. Dasin fears that if his relatives do not make it to the U.S. they
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will be killed in Iraq. Dasin also has two close friends, also Iraqi refugees, that he met
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while living in Turkey. They waited several years before scheduling flights to come to the
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U.S. this month. However, they had to cancel their flights after the Executive Order.
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Nadia
Nadia is 21 years old, and Muslim. She was born in the United States and is a
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U.S. citizen. Her parents are both U.S. citizens and originally from Somalia. Her mother
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is a childcare worker and member of the SEIU 925. Nadia is currently studying to
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become a social worker and working part-time as a caregiver for her grandmother. She
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lives at home with her two parents and three siblings in Auburn, Washington. Her father
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is currently in Somalia visiting her extensive family there. She has never visited her
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family in Somalia because it is too expensive.
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Nadia is adversely impacted by the Executive Order because she hopes to be
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married in the U.S. to a Yemeni citizen currently residing in Saudi Arabia. Nadia was
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introduced to her fiancé through her parents. Nadia’s parents met her fiancé while on
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pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. They thought he would be a good match for Nadia and put
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them in touch. Nadia and her fiancé spoke by phone and video chat for several months
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before she decided to visit him in Saudi Arabia. Nadia spent more than a month with her
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fiancé. During the time that she spent in Saudi Arabia with her fiancé, she became
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increasingly drawn to his kindness, thoughtfulness, and great personality, and eventually
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the couple decided to get married. When Nadia returned to the U.S. in March of 2016,
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she filed an immigration application for her fiancé, a K-1 “fiancé” visa. She submitted
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all the paperwork and her fiancé’s application was approved pending a final interview at
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the U.S. Embassy abroad.
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Nadia is scared for both herself and her fiancé. She is “scared that [the Executive
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Order] is something that can happen” in this country. Nadia said she is worried she will
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have to move to Saudi Arabia to be with her fiancé, and leave her home in the U.S.
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because it is too “hard to live our lives separately.” Nadia has been unable to see her
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fiancé, whom she misses dearly, since she was last in Saudi Arabia because the expense
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of flying to Saudi Arabia. Nadia and her fiancé stay in touch mostly through phone and
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video chat. Nadia’s fiancé told her he is really scared he will not be able to see her
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again. He is upset that he is unable to move to the U.S. and start a life with Nadia. Nadia
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says they both try to stay calm by waiting, praying, and hoping things will work out in the
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end.
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4.
John
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John (a pseudonym) lives in a suburb of Seattle with his wife and three children.
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John came to the United States from Iran in 1978 as a student and was recognized as a
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religious refugee in 1982. He became a U.S. citizen in 1990.
John is adversely impacted by the Executive Order because it affects both his
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family and his business. John has several relatives living in Iran currently facing
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religious persecution because they are of the Baha’i faith. John’s parents fled Iran in
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1982 after three of John’s uncles were killed by an Iranian firing squad. John is now
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worried that his relatives cannot come to the United States or visit him and his family
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because of the immigration ban. John also has relatives who are Iranian citizens but
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reside all over the world. He is also worried that they cannot visit him in the United
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States.
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The Executive Order is also harming John’s business. John and his wife run a
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small health clinic in Seattle. It is a comprehensive integrative clinic which mixes
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Western and Eastern medicine. John’s clinic treats about 20 patients from Canada who
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are Iranian citizens. John sees patients from Canada every Friday at his clinic, and he
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estimates that those patients comprise about 20 percent of his business. Those patients
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can no longer come to the clinic from Canada because of the Executive Order. John
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believes that President Trump put the ban in place “hastily.” As John stated, “everybody
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has a different story for why they need to come to the U.S . . . it is too simplistic to say
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that just because you were born in a certain country that you are a terrorist.”
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5.
Halima
Halima, a Muslim woman, lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband and
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children. She came to the United States from Somalia in 2001 as a legal resident, and
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became a U.S. citizen in 2008. Halima is a caregiver for disabled and elderly patients
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and has been a member of SEIU Local 775 since 2008. Although Halima and two of her
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children are U.S. citizens, her husband and her other four children are legal residents
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(green card holders). Her six children range in age from 17 to 24. One child is in
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school; two of them attend community college; the other three children are working.
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The Executive Order has made Halima very worried. She worries about her
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children every minute that they are away from home. She worries that they may be
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attacked because of the hateful environment that this Executive Order has created.
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Halima’s four daughters all wear a hajib, and she is afraid that people will attack them
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because of the anti-Muslim feelings the Executive Order has fueled.
The husband of one of Halima’s friends flew into the Seattle airport on January
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27, 2017 with an approved visa, but was returned back to Somalia. Her friend, U.S.
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citizen, was waiting for her husband and couldn’t even see him before he was turned
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around and sent back to Somalia—even though he was here legally. This incident has
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terrorized Halima’s entire family. As Halima said, “[i]f they can treat people with green
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cards and visas the way they treated these people, who knows if they will come after
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naturalized citizens next? No one is safe.”
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The accounts of these SEIU members demonstrate that the Executive Order has an
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immediate and concrete impact on the well-being of Washington State citizens and is a matter of
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State concern.5 The Executive Order is separating families for no justifiable reason, causing
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many of Washington’s citizens—including SEIU members—harm and distress when they face
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the genuine risk that they will be permanently separated from their loved ones. The State has a
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singular interest in protecting its citizens from precisely this type of irreparable harm from any
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source, including the federal government.
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IV.
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CONCLUSION
Woven throughout the accounts set forth above is a deep and genuine connection to this
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country, and Washington State—a connection based on the opportunities and freedom that our
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country affords. Recent events have understandably shaken the faith of the aforementioned
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individuals, their families and their communities in the current Administration. It now falls to
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the judiciary to ensure that their faith in America was not misplaced, and that this country’s
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adherence to fairness, due process, and equal treatment under the law shall endure.
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DATED this 2nd day of February, 2017.
Respectfully submitted,
HAGENS BERMAN SOBOL SHAPIRO LLP
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By
/s/ Steve W. Berman
Steve W. Berman, WSBA #12536
By
/s/ Andrew M. Volk
Andrew Volk, WSBA #27639
HAGENS BERMAN SOBOL
SHAPIRO LLP
1918 Eighth Avenue, Suite 3300
Seattle, WA 98101
Tel: (206) 623-7292
Fax: (206) 623-0594
steve@hbsslaw.com
andrew@hbsslaw.com
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See Supp. Brief, at 5 (“practices of discrimination against any of its inhabitants because of race, color, creed,
[or] national origin . . . are a matter of state concern”) (quoting Wash. Rev. Code 49.60.010).
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Nicole G. Berner, General Counsel
Debbie Smith, Associate General Counsel
Trisha Pande, Law Fellow
SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION
1800 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
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Counsel for Amicus Curiae Service Employees
International Union
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on February 2, 2017, I electronically filed the foregoing with the
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Clerk of the Court using the CM/ECF system which will send notification of such filing to the
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following:
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Michelle R. Bennett, michelle.bennett@usdoj.gov
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Angelo J. Calfo, angeloc@calfoeakes.com
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Marsha J. Chien, marshac@atg.wa.gov
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Ann Elizabeth Egeler, annee1@atg.wa.gov
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Kymberly K. Evanson, kymberly.evanson@pacificalawgroup.com
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Robert W. Ferguson, judyg@atg.wa.gov
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Arjun Garg, Arjun.garg@usdoj.gov
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Bradley Girard, girard@au.org
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Richard B. Katskee, katskee@au.org
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Paul J. Lawrence, paul.lawrence@pacificalawgroup.com
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Noah Guzzo Purcell, noahp@atg.wa.gov
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Patricio A. Marquez, PatricioM@atg.wa.gov
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Colleen M. Melody, colleenm2@atg.wa.gov
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Kristin W. Silverman, kristins@calfoeakes.com
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DATED: February 2, 2017
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/s/ Steve W. Berman
Steve W. Berman, WSBA #12536
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