Executive Orders

Through infamous and controversial orders, President Trump has sought to ban entrants from selected Muslim-majority nations.

The DACA Trap

11/6/19  //  Commentary

The Supreme Court will hear arguments next week in a case about whether the Trump Administration can revoke DACA. But progressives ought to be wary of the long-term effects of prevailing. A win here could very well make it very hard to undo the lax enforcement policies of the current Administration.

Zachary Price

U.C. Hastings College of the Law

Versus Trump: Trump's No Good, Very Bad Day

10/17/19  //  Uncategorized

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Easha break down President Trump's bad day in court on Friday, October 11. On that day, he lost three different lawsuits: one on the "public charge" immigration rule, one on Congress's subpoena power, and one on border wall funding. Listen now!

Easha Anand

San Francisco

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Versus Trump: An Impeachment Primer...

10/3/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Gotcha! No impeachment dessert until you eat your immigration broccoli. On this week’s Versus Trump, Easha (back from parental leave!) and Charlie (just starting parental leave) discuss two immigration losses for the Trump administration. The first concerns Trump’s attempts to roll back court-ordered protections for migrant children; the second, Trump’s attempt to subject more immigrants to expedited removal. Listen now!

Easha Anand

San Francisco

Charlie Gerstein

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Same Flores Song, Different Verse

9/30/19  //  Commentary

Judge Gee’s earlier ruling on DOJ’s “application for relief” from the Flores settlement makes clear why her recent ruling invalidating DHS’s new regulation is correct.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Versus Trump: What's Left Of Asylum Law?

9/19/19  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie and Jason discuss the Supreme Court's recent action permitting the Trump Administration to enforce tough new restrictions on asylum eligibility for those who enter the U.S. at the southern border. Listen now!

Charlie Gerstein

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Judges, Do The Reading

9/9/19  //  Quick Reactions

The oral argument in the TPS case featured a line of questioning that suggested one of the judges had not read the relevant Supreme Court case.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Updates | The Week of January 22, 2018

1/28/18  //  Daily Update

Michael Dorf argued that litigation against the travel ban should be considered a success, regardless of the final result at the Supreme Court. A report shows that Customs and Border Protection repeatedly violated court orders issued during the first week of the travel ban litigation.

Updates | The Week of January 15, 2018

1/14/18  //  Daily Update

A federal court grants an injunction requiring the Trump Administration to resume accepting Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals renewal applications.

Take Care

Update | The Week of November 27, 2017

12/4/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump's recent tweets may not help the government's defense of the latest iteration of the Travel Ban.

Jeffrey Stein

Columbia Law School

Updates | The Week of November 20, 2017

11/26/17  //  Daily Update

Travel Ban litigation continues: The Trump Administration petitioned the Supreme Court to allow the full ban to go into effect while they appeal an earlier injunction. An Inspector General report, currently withheld from publication, indicates that federal agents violated court orders in the rollout of the first travel ban.

Update | The Week of October 30, 2017

11/6/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump's recent executive actions on immigration and refugees are not based on objective criteria.

Updates | The Week of October 23, 2017

10/31/17  //  Daily Update

The DOJ filed a notice of appeal in the Travel Ban 3.0 case. The Supreme Court dismissed the Travel Ban 2.0 case as moot.

The Travel Ban and Inter-Branch Conflict

6/26/18  //  Commentary

The real problem is the Trump Administration itself. What feels like damage today is largely the echo of damage that already happened, rather than something new.

Richard Primus

University of Michigan Law School

Improper Commands from President Trump's Employees?

3/16/17  //  Commentary

Key White House personnel might be violating important limits on their lawful authority.

Nikolas Bowie

Harvard Law School

Forced Separation Of Families & Forced To-Term Pregnancies

6/7/18  //  Commentary

The administration’s policy of forcibly separating children from their parents highlights some of the shortcomings with the legal justifications for the administration’s position in Azar v. Garza, the case in which the administration is refusing to allow undocumented women in its custody to obtain abortions.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

September and/or January 25th (or how the Solicitor General learned to stop worrying and love the President’s disavowal of anti-Muslim animus)

4/30/18  //  Commentary

The Solicitor General is apparently still trying to figure out why the entry ban is constitutional.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Versus Trump: Kavanaugh's Coming, Plus Updates

7/12/18  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason, Charlie, and Easha discuss the retirement of Justice Kennedy and how his presumptive replacement may rule in Versus Trump cases. They then do some quick hits to update a handful of important cases. Listen now!

Easha Anand

San Francisco

Charlie Gerstein

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Immigration Policy Parallels

5/20/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Now that the Trump administration has identified an additional 1700 children separated from their families, it’s time to revisit the administration’s legal arguments for why it was not actually separating families; with new, questionably legal actions that arise practically every day, we cannot let the way the administration has handled the fallout of its immigration policies slip by the wayside.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Hilary Robin Rosenthal

Columbia Law School

The Supreme Court’s Travel Ban

7/19/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Supreme Court is now a co-owner and co-author of the travel ban. That grows truer every time it tinkers with minutiae of this cruel, unjustified policy. And with that position comes major institutional risk to the Supreme Court’s public legitimacy.

McKayla Maroney Is Not Impressed (With DOJ's Brief in the Fourth Circuit)

3/27/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Department of Justice has filed a brief in the Fourth Circuit defending President Trump's revised entry ban. This is not an impressive brief: it is rife with misstatements of fact and incorrect legal arguments.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

The Under-Inclusive Theory Of Discrimination (It's Not Going To Happen)

5/8/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Trump administration has repeatedly (and incorrectly) argued that a policy does not constitute discrimination unless the policy discriminates against all members of a particular group.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Judge Kozinski Asked The Wrong Question & Got The Wrong Answer

3/20/17  //  Commentary

Judge Alex Kozinski, among others, has argued that President Trump's campaign statements are irrelevant to assessing the Muslim Ban. But his argument starts with the wrong question, and inevitably reaches the wrong answer.

Amir Ali

Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

Latest Travel Ban Ruling Helps A Lot But Not Enough

7/14/17  //  Quick Reactions

It is likely that the Trump administration will simply seize on whatever ambiguity there is in the latest injunction to deny entry to as many people as it can. Why? Because that is the point of the Travel Ban.

Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law School

The Government And Grandparents (What's The Big Deal?)

7/15/17  //  Quick Reactions

DOJ rushed to the Supreme Court to ensure that the government wouldn't have to admit grandparents. Its arguments are silly.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

The Comey Affair And Evidence Of Motive

5/12/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Comey affair underscores that decisionmakers must look beyond the administration’s “official” documents to determine the administration’s motives.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Second Thoughts About The Supreme Court’s Scheduling The Entry Ban Case

8/2/17  //  Commentary

The Court’s October Calendar Further Underscores That It Never Actually Intends To Resolve The Legality Of The Entry Ban

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

The Future Of Constitutional Discrimination Law After Hawai’i v. Trump

6/26/18  //  Commentary

The future of discrimination law is secure, in short—and securely shut to minority races, ethnicities, and creeds suffering at the hands of a populist majority.

Aziz Huq

University of Chicago Law School

Justice Gorsuch, Executive Power, And Muslim Ban 2.0

3/20/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

A careful review of Judge Gorsuch's record reveals strong reason to believe that he would vote to uphold President Trump's revised Muslim Ban (and potentially many other executives abuses, too).

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Amir Ali

Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

Versus Trump: Stop The Wall!

2/21/19  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie, Jason, and Easha discuss the early lawsuits that seek to stop the new sections of border wall that President Trump authorized through executive action. Listen now!

Charlie Gerstein

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Easha Anand

San Francisco

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Versus Trump: The Healthcare Episode

6/1/17  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Take Care's podcast, Easha and Jason dig into healthcare for the first time, as they take a deep dive into the House v. Price litigation that addresses whether certain payments to insurers under the Affordable Care Act have been properly appropriated. They also debate immigration rhetoric vs. action and discuss drug testing for unemployment benefits. Listen now!

Easha Anand

San Francisco

En Banc Review? How Can I Say No?

3/30/17  //  Quick Reactions

When asked by the Fourth Circuit, the Government said it wanted to have the full court consider its Muslim ban. But the Government probably did not mean it.

Amir Ali

Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

Presidential Statements and the Entry Ban

5/10/18  //  Commentary

A different take on how presidential statements or the possibility of them might affect Trump v. Hawaii (the entry ban case).

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

The Problem with Palmer

5/7/17  //  Commentary

In its Muslim Ban brief, DOJ favorably cites Palmer v. Thompson (1971)—which allowed Jackson, Mississippi to close public pools rather than integrate them. The Fourth Circuit should question DOJ about this stunning citation and make clear that Palmer, an odious ruling, has no place in anti-discrimination law today.

John-Paul Schnapper-Casteras

The NAACP LDF, Inc.

Killing The Dream

9/5/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Donald Trump's apparent reasons for (apparently) rescinding DACA make little sense.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

An Update on DACA

3/31/17  //  Latest Developments

The President's words indicate he is open to honoring DACA (the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program). But his actions (and inactions) suggest otherwise.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Versus Trump: Keeping the DREAM Alive

9/14/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, we discuss a major new lawsuit that challenges President Trump's announced revocation of the DACA immigration program. Listen now!

Charlie Gerstein

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Versus Trump: 2017 Scorecard

1/4/18  //  Uncategorized

On the first episode of Versus Trump of 2018, Jason and Charlie look back at Versus Trump cases in 2017 and score them as Administration wins, losses, or not-yet-decided. They also look ahead at big issues to come in 2018. Listen now!

Charlie Gerstein

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Our Constitution Forbids a Religious Test for Immigration

4/19/18  //  Commentary

The Supreme Court should strike down Trump’s travel ban.

We’ve Been (Unconstitutionally) Separating Children From Their Immigrant Parents For A While Now

6/20/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

By Carolyn Shapiro & Joanna Martin: Separating parents from their children without regard for the children’s rights and interests is unconstitutional

Take Care

What It Means To Be Presidential: Litigating Positions

7/11/17  //  Commentary

Jane Chong questioned whether the administration's “self-interested [legal] stance" in the cases about the emoluments clauses "is ... fundamentally at odds with the trust that the office [of the President] confers.” It's worth asking the same about the administration's litigating position on the scope of the injunction against the entry ban.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Protecting Free Speech and Free Press From Motivated Malignancy

9/28/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Trump’s potential violations of free speech and press have much in common with his apparent violations of other constitutional limits

Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law School

This Week’s Blockbuster SCOTUS Cases Share a Troublesome Common Issue

4/24/18  //  Commentary

Both the travel ban case and the Texas redistricting litigation raise questions about the staying power of discriminatory intent.

Justin Levitt

Loyola Law School

The Supreme Court's Contribution to the Offense of Flying While Muslim

6/27/17  //  Commentary

By making fine distinctions between who Trump can or cannot ban from the US, the Supreme Court has opened the door to greater discrimination against Muslims at the border.

Amir Ali

Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

The First DACA Rescission Was Arbitrary and Capricious. Will the Next One Also Be?

2/16/18  //  Commentary

Should Congress adopt a permanent fix to DACA in the coming days, the preliminary injunction will prove unimportant. But given deep divisions within and among the parties, that is hardly a sure thing. Accordingly, the ruling warrants careful study.

Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law School

The President's Statements On The London Attacks

6/5/17  //  Commentary

The President's statements on the London attacks reveal how the President thinks about his entry ban, and also what he might do if there is ever an attack on the United States.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Helen Klein Murillo

Harvard Law School '17

Trump Can’t Revoke DACA Without Going Through Notice and Comment

9/5/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Dreamers should invoke administrative law to block Trump's DACA decision

Daniel Hemel

University of Chicago Law School

The Establishment Clause and the Muslim Ban

3/18/17  //  Commentary

Why the Establishment Clause Has Emerged as the Chief Stumbling Block for Trump's Muslim Ban

Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law School

The Standard Fare of Judges: What Happens When the Judiciary Does What It Always Does

3/28/17  //  Commentary

The Muslim Ban litigation does not involve a "revolt of the judges." As proven by a survey of major and minor cases from the legal canon, this litigation involves only the standard fare of judging.

Daniel Deacon

U.C. Irvine School of Law

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Travel Ban 3.0 in Court (again)

10/18/17  //  Quick Reactions

A quick analysis of the differences between the Hawaii and Maryland district court decisions on the entry restrictions in "EO-3."

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

On The Travel Ban The Supreme Court Says: Stay Tuned

6/26/17  //  Quick Reactions

Some quick thoughts on the Supreme Court's actions on the travel ban.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

The President Resuscitates the Entry Ban: Where Should the Supreme Court Go From Here?

6/15/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

In this post I explain why, in light of the Ninth Circuit’s decision on Monday, there’s no good reason for the Supreme Court to grant any of the government’s petitions or applications.

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

Oceans Apart But Still a Close Familial Relation

9/5/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Analysis of the Ninth Circuit's latest travel ban argument (and some personal reflections).

The President’s Clarifying Memorandum And The Amicus Brief About Animus

6/20/17  //  Commentary

The President’s clarifying memorandum undercuts the legitimate rationale the executive order and DOJ had offered for the entry ban. An amicus brief filed in the Supreme Court explains why that matters.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

The Highest Court in Massachusetts Declares the Commonwealth a Sanctuary State

7/24/17  //  Commentary

A landmark opinion turns Massachusetts into a sanctuary state, setting up a legal and political battle with DOJ.

Nikolas Bowie

Harvard Law School

The Attorney General, Hawaii Statehood, and National Injunctions

4/21/17  //  Quick Reactions

The AG's comments denigrating Hawaii statehood are objectionable for many reasons. But don't overlook his underlying complaint about national injunctions—which conservatives spent years developing and have suddenly, painfully discovered can be used against them.

The President’s Dilemma

3/17/17  //  Commentary

An emergency appeal on the Muslim Ban may be both rational and his worst outcome.

Amir Ali

Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

The Trump Administration’s Immigration-Related Detentions

3/24/17  //  Commentary

The Supreme Court is considering a major constitutional challenge to federal immigration detention policies. Trump’s recent executive orders make that case even more significant.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

How the President’s Clarifying Memorandum Destroys the Case for the Entry Ban

6/15/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The President's "clarifying" memorandum undermines the facial legitimacy of the entry ban, and the government's stated purposes for the entry ban.

Take Care

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

A Compilation of Travel Ban Legal Analyses From Around the Web

5/5/17  //  Latest Developments

Take Care hereby presents in a single post all commentary we have rounded up in our daily updates since the site launched on March 16. Together, these articles tell the story of the revised travel ban and offer a diverse set of perspectives on legal issues in the litigation.

Take Care

Animus, Past and Present

5/9/17  //  Commentary

In a new op-ed, Erwin Chemerinsky and I argue that the entry ban is unconstitutional because it was driven by animus toward Muslims.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

The Solicitor General’s Expedited Removal Petition

8/19/19  //  Commentary

Intervening legal developments counsel against granting the Solicitor General’s recent petition for certiorari on the expedited removal system.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Kyle Skinner

Harvard Law School

Embracing Federalism

3/16/17  //  Commentary

It is time for progressives to embrace federalism and to use Supreme Court precedents protecting states’ rights to fight against Trump administration policies

Erwin Chemerinsky

U.C. Irvine School of Law

Trump Is Not Playing Ten-Dimensional Chess; He's Not Even Playing Checkers; He's Barely Playing Peekaboo

6/6/17  //  Commentary

Let's explore the hypothesis that Trump is deliberately sabotaging the already weak case for sustaining the travel ban. This is extremely unlikely. As they say in medical school, when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras. The most obvious explanation--Trump is an ignorant racist with no impulse control--should dominate more intricate theories.

Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law School

Information Wars Part V: Immigrant Crime Disinformation

4/20/17  //  Commentary

In its war on information, the Trump administration is not just trying to hide the facts. It’s also trying to misrepresent them.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Helen Klein Murillo

Harvard Law School '17

Why Enjoining DACA’s Cancellation Is Wrong

1/12/18  //  Commentary

This decision, however attractive as a matter of policy, strikes me as mistaken under the law. It warrants swift reversal by higher courts.

Zachary Price

U.C. Hastings College of the Law

The Ninth Circuit's Latest Order and The Zombie Travel Ban

9/7/17  //  Quick Reactions

And now what? We’re condemned to battle the zombie-like remains of this cruel order as it shuffles about the world for just a few more weeks, ruining lives and embarrassing our tradition of religious liberty.

President Trump, Your Words Do Matter (And Should Doom Your Muslim Ban)

6/21/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Sirine Shebaya and Johnathan Smith: Trump has never been bashful about his anti-Muslim animus. And he has invoked that animus in creating policies, in defiance of the Constitution.

Take Care

The Court’s Border Wall Fiasco

9/3/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Supreme Court’s decision to stay the injunction against the President’s construction of the border wall made no sense. It is also part of a troubling trend of restricting remedies against unlawful government action.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Kyle Skinner

Harvard Law School

The Travel Ban and the Ontology of the Compelling Interest Test

10/6/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Maybe the whole compelling interest test is misguided in Establishment Clause cases.

Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law School

The First Amendment Belongs Only to Americans? Wrong

3/29/17  //  Commentary

The First Amendment makes America great for everyone, not just for citizens.

Nikolas Bowie

Harvard Law School

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Judicial Deference to President Trump

5/8/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

It is time to ask: Has Trump in effect forfeited some measure of judicial deference across contexts and cases, through his disrespect for the courts and the rule of law and his displays of prejudice and arbitrary decisionmaking? And if he has not yet reached that point, what more would it take?

Dawn Johnsen

Indiana University Maurer School of Law

Opposing Trump's Muslim Ban at the Supreme Court

6/16/17  //  Quick Reactions

President Trump has asked the Supreme Court to lift the stay preventing him from implementing his travel ban. Nelson Tebbe, Micah Schwartzman and I, along with a large group of constitutional law scholars, have filed a brief opposing Trump's motion.

Corey Brettschneider

Brown University

The Supreme Court, Animus, And Amicus

10/10/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Some thoughts on a brief in a case the Court had scheduled to hear today.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Versus Trump: Russia Check-In

3/1/18  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Jason, and Charlie check back in with the most politically charged of all Versus Trump suits: the Russia investigation. Listen now!

Easha Anand

San Francisco

Charlie Gerstein

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

End of the Travel Ban and Its Litigation (for now, anyway)

9/24/17  //  Commentary

By the time you read this, the heart of the so-called 'travel ban' will probably be no more.

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

Why Trump's Travel Ban Statements Compel a Finding of Improper Purpose

4/6/17  //  Commentary

Trump's statements about the revised travel ban overwhelmingly evidence a purpose at odds with the Establishment Clause. And few, if any, of those statements evince actual, substantive national security or foreign affairs objectives that explain the bizarre scope of his order.

It’s the Legacy of the Roberts Court—not the Travel Ban—at Stake

4/24/18  //  Commentary

When future generations judge a particular composition of the Supreme Court, a major failure can become that Court's defining feature, overshadowing substantial contributions to the law.

Amir Ali

Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

Travel Ban Misconceptions II: Animus & Non-Citizen/Foreign Muslims

5/3/17  //  Commentary

The Muslim Ban targets Muslims everywhere. The notion that it reflects, at most, animus toward foreign (or non-citizen) Muslims doesn't withstand scrutiny. There can be no doubt that it inflicts severe and continuing injury on the American Muslim Community.

Amir Ali

Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

Honor Killings and the Travel Bans

10/4/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Anti-Muslim animus on the face of the second travel ban requires clear proof that the third one is free of such bigotry.

Jennings v. Rodriguez, Immigration Sins Of the Past, And The Forced Separation Of Families

6/6/18  //  Commentary

Jennings v. Rodriguez underscores how prior administrations, with the agreement of the federal courts, argued for expansive authority over immigration and immigration detentions that were ripe for abuse.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

A Primer on the DACA Rescission

10/5/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Here we address confusions and misconceptions about what DACA is (or was), and what will happen next; about the effects of DHS’s “rescission, and what the legal basis might be for that rescission; about what happens during the so-called six-month “window”; about the prospects that Trump might reverse course in March; and about the current litigation challenging DHS’s rescission.

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

Cristina Rodríguez

Yale Law School

Adam Cox

NYU Law School

An Updated Guide to Our Analyses of the Travel Ban

4/23/18  //  Latest Developments

Take Care hereby presents in a single, updated post all commentary we have published about the revised travel ban.

Take Care

The Solicitor General's Post-Factual World

5/8/18  //  Commentary

The SG's letter of correction to the Supreme Court says more about the kind of misstatements he will tolerate rather than the kind he won't.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

The Travel Ban And The Supreme Court

6/2/17  //  Quick Reactions

The government's petition for certiorari and stay requests raise some difficult timing issues in the travel ban litigation.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

The Basic Error In Texas’s Amicus Brief In The Travel Ban Case (aka Youngstown Zone Zero Redux)

6/7/17  //  Commentary

Texas’s Amicus Brief Makes An Argument That Is So Obviously Wrong Some People Thought It Was Not Worth Responding To

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Ian Samuel

Harvard Law School

The Administration's Travel Ban Guidance

6/29/17  //  Commentary

The administration has again attempted to push the boundaries to see what it can get away with on the travel ban guidance.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Trump's (Apparent) DACA Position Is At Odds With His Travel Ban Brief

9/4/17  //  Commentary

The Trump administration will invoke whatever views of statutes and executive power maximize cruelty towards the foreign nationals he and his supporters most despise.

Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law School

Why Firing Comey Guts DOJ's Main Defense of the Muslim Ban 

5/10/17  //  Commentary

Sometimes, when an emissary of the President asks courts to “trust us,” things the President does elsewhere can fatally undermine judicial confidence in the President’s respect for rule of law values. We’ve seen it before and we’re about to see it again.

The Muslim Ban and Trump's Latest Tweets

6/5/17  //  Quick Reactions

Thanks in part to the President's own recent tweets and public comments, the case for concluding that his revised travel ban is unconstitutional has now become overwhelming.

Corey Brettschneider

Brown University

The Ninth Circuit Can Doom Trump’s Travel Ban

6/1/17  //  Commentary

The Ninth Circuit can give life to one of the challengers' most powerful arguments against Supreme Court review.

Amir Ali

Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

Magic-Words Thinking in Trump v. Hawaii -- or, How Not to Assess Governmental Motive

4/25/18  //  Commentary

Giving President Trump the benefit of the doubt is one thing. Fictionalizing an account of his motive so as to avoid reaching a certain conclusion is something else.

Richard Primus

University of Michigan Law School

The Imperatives of Structure: The Travel Ban, the Establishment Clause, and Standing to Sue

4/3/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

In the Fourth Circuit travel ban appeal, DOJ contends that the plaintiffs lack standing. But a deeper examination of the Establishment Clause proves that the plaintiffs’ claims must be heard on the merits.

Ira C. Lupu

George Washington University Law School

Peter J. Smith

George Washington University Law School

Robert W. Tuttle

George Washington University Law School

A Rough Guide to Amicus Briefs In the Travel Ban Cases

4/24/17  //  Latest Developments

Take Care offers a quick, rough breakdown of the amicus briefs filed last week concerning President Trump's revised executive order.

Take Care

Some Notes On The Latest “Ban”

7/31/17  //  Commentary

There are some notable similarities between the President's announcement that transgender individuals would be banned from military service, and the ban(s) on entry from several Muslim majority countries.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Versus Trump: An Immigration Omnibus

5/31/18  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Charlie, and Jason discuss recent important cases in the world of immigration, including a new lawsuit contending that the Trump Administration may not pursue its apparent policy of legally separating immigrant children from adults that they enter the country with. Listen now!

Easha Anand

San Francisco

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Charlie Gerstein

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Challenging the 'Travel Ban' in the Supreme Court

9/19/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Will the President’s own words mean nothing to the Court, even as they mean everything to millions affected by his order?

Tweetstorm Round Deux

6/5/17  //  Commentary

The President's latest statements on Twitter undermine DOJ's defense of the entry ban, and continue the President's efforts to blame everyone (including DOJ and the courts) but himself.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

It's All About that Stay (and Its Surprising Limits)

6/26/17  //  Quick Reactions

Preliminary thoughts on the Supreme Court's travel ban order.

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

Trump’s Threat to Restrict Birthright Citizenship Has (Troubling) Precedent

11/13/18  //  Commentary

By Neil Weare and Sam Erman: It's time to invalidate policies denying birthright citizenship to persons born in U.S. territories

Take Care

Entry Ban Animus Revisited

6/25/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Many of the Supreme Court’s recent decisions tell us what we need to know: Under any meaningful standard for assessing government motives, the entry ban must fail.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Abigail DeHart

Michigan Law School

Versus Trump: Muslim Ban Argument Recap

5/9/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

It's our first emergency podcast! Right after the full Fourth Circuit heard oral arguments in a major case regarding the Muslim Travel Ban, we hopped on the line to do a recap. The podcast includes excerpts from the oral argument audio.

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Easha Anand

San Francisco

Charlie Gerstein

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Versus Trump: Trump Loses On Family Planning, Wins In The Ninth, and More

5/16/19  //  Uncategorized

This week on Versus Trump, Jason and Easha go through a few updates to cases involving Title X, which provides money for family planning; the Administration's policy to have many asylum applicants removed to Mexico; and the controversial border wall. Trump lost one, won one—for now, and hasn't yet gotten a decision in the third. Listen now!

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Easha Anand

San Francisco

Masterpiece Cakeshop And The Entry Ban

6/4/18  //  Quick Reactions

In Masterpiece Cakeshop, Justice Kennedy tells us a lot about why the Court should reject the government's arguments on the First Amendment claim in the entry ban case.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Here's Why SCOTUS Should Block Travel Ban 3.0

4/17/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

The government can't act based on animus toward particular religions. But that's exactly what Trump did.

On the So-Called 'Global Injunction' Question in the Travel Ban Case

4/23/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Thoughts on what remedy is appropriate if the travel ban is held unconstitutional

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

Animus and the Travel Ban

5/8/17  //  Commentary

One of the founding principles of this nation is that our government welcomes those of all faiths and rejects religious intolerance. President Trump’s order contravenes our nation’s fundamental commitment to religious freedom and to the equal protection of the laws. Federal courts should declare it unconstitutional.

Micah Schwartzman

University of Virginia School of Law

Nelson Tebbe

Brooklyn Law School

Corey Brettschneider

Brown University

Immigration Lies And The Supreme Court

1/23/19  //  Commentary

A recently leaked document highlights the perils of government lawyering on behalf of the Trump administration.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

A Reality Check On Proceedings Related To The Entry Ban Injunctions

7/13/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Some commentators are seizing on court orders in the proceedings related to the scope of the injunction against the entry ban as an indication that courts are rethinking their decisions against the entry ban. That's wrong (with a cautionary note about the federal courts).

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Litigating the Supreme Court’s Entry Ban Opinion: What’s the Required Connection?

7/19/17  //  Commentary

All of the briefs are now in on the government’s motion to the Supreme Court for clarification of its order in Trump v. Hawaii.

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

Looking Back On The Entry Ban Justifications

9/25/17  //  Commentary

The government and the courts have proven that one of the administration’s justifications for the now expired entry ban was a joke.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Against Deference: Considering the Trump Travel Ban

12/8/17  //  Commentary

By Vicki Jackson & Judith Resnik: Upholding the third travel ban out of deference to the President on matters of foreign affairs would be a tragic mistake.

Take Care

The Fourth Circuit & Animus Under Mandel

5/25/17  //  Quick Reactions

By Corey Brettschneider: As the Fourth Circuit recognized today, even if Kleindanst v. Mandel supplies the rule of decision and requires rationality review, animus is fatal to the Muslim Ban even under that standard.

Take Care

See You In Court: Ninth Circuit Round 2

6/12/17  //  Quick Reactions

A quick recap of the Ninth Circuit's decision in Hawaii v. Trump with thoughts about what it portends for the Supreme Court.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Some Thoughts on the Government’s Latest Filing in the Entry Ban Cases

6/19/17  //  Commentary

Here I offer three quick reactions to the government’s latest filing in the Ninth Circuit case—the first two on questions concerning what the Court should do now with the government’s applications, and the third with respect to the merits of the statutory ultra vires argument on which the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit relied.

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

Travel Ban 3.0 in Court

10/17/17  //  Quick Reactions

A quick analysis of Judge Watson's order that temporarily restrained the latest set of entry restrictions.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

The Government’s Vanishing National Security Rationale (aka Round 10000 In The Incompetence Versus Malevolence Debate)

6/8/17  //  Commentary

The government’s litigation strategy in the travel ban litigation undermines the purported national security rationale for the entry ban.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

A Response to Will Baude on Mootness in the Entry Ban Case

6/3/17  //  Commentary

I've argued that the Supreme Court shouldn't grant review of the travel ban case because 33 hours after the Respondents file their response to the petition for certiorari on June 12, the entry ban will no longer be operative. Here I respond to two purportedly “plausible” alternative interpretations of the executive order offered by William Baude.

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

Misconceptions Part I: Trump, Muslims, and the Travel Ban

5/2/17  //  Commentary

Misperceptions of the Muslim Ban case abound. One of them is that Trump's animus is evidenced only by his campaign promise to ban Muslims from America. That promise, we demonstrate, must be situated in the context of Trump's sustained and wide-ranging crusade against the American Muslim community.

Amir Ali

Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

Versus Trump: Secret Subpoenas, A New AG, and Live Listener Feedback

1/17/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie, Jason, and Easha hit three topics: the mysterious case of the subpoena to a foreign corporation that may be related to the Mueller investigation; the nomination of William Barr as Attorney General; and the temporal nature of an emergency, as prompted by live listener feedback. Listen now!

Charlie Gerstein

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Easha Anand

San Francisco

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

See You In Court 3.0

5/25/17  //  Quick Reactions

A quick recap of the Fourth Circuit's decision in IRAP v. Trump.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

The Clarifying Memorandum Is Not A Reason For A Stay

6/21/17  //  Quick Reactions

An analysis of DOJ's latest filing at SCOTUS in the travel ban cases.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Mootness and Munsingwear in the Travel Ban Litigation

6/6/17  //  Commentary

A Munsingwear vacatur could be an intriguing compromise in the travel ban case that just might generate consensus on the Supreme Court. It would let the Justices avoid wading into treacherous constitutional waters. But it would also avoid giving the impression that the Court approved of a nationwide injunction about which the conservative Justices will, I suspect, have serious concerns.

Daniel Epps

Washington University Law School

It Matters How and When SCOTUS Reviews the Muslim Ban

5/30/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

A detailed guide to how and when the Muslim Ban might reach the Supreme Court (and why this question really matters).

Why Courts Have Probed Trump’s Motives for the Travel Ban

4/4/17  //  Commentary

Perceptions of presidential bad faith have given judges the fortitude to do what the law already demands of them, even though their actions might prompt the President to bash them by name on TV or Twitter.

Punching Down From The Pulpit, And Other Unpresidential Positions

8/8/17  //  Commentary

The President’s litigation positions underscore how he views his office as a license to beat up on persons with less power.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Back to the Supreme Court on the Scope of the Entry Ban Injunction: First Thoughts

7/15/17  //  Commentary

Now that the travel ban is back in the Supreme Court, here are four additional, preliminary thoughts on where things stand.

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

Donald Trump’s Say-So is Not a Presidential “National Security Judgment”

6/21/17  //  Quick Reactions

Analysis of DOJ's filing at SCOTUS today in the travel ban cases.

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

Correcting the Record in the Travel Ban Case

5/6/18  //  Latest Developments

Amir Ali has filed a letter at the Supreme Court concerning an erroneous factual representation by the Solicitor General

Seriously? The Court Intended to Exclude Grandmas from the Preliminary Injunctions?

6/29/17  //  Commentary

A post on the absurdity of the Administration’s interpretation of the Supreme Court’s modification of the travel-ban/refugee-limit preliminary injunctions.

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

Animus Revisited: DOJ Fails To Explain Change in Position on Relevance of Campaign Statements

6/23/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

DOJ can't distinguish a case from 1995 in which it took a diametrically opposed view on the relevance of campaign statements.

Jim Oleske

Lewis & Clark Law School

What Masterpiece Cakeshop Tells Us About the Travel Ban

6/8/18  //  Commentary

In a recent article, I expand on my argument that the Court's reasoning in Masterpiece Cakeshop suggests the Travel Ban violates the First Amendment.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

The Muslim Ban: Answering Tough Questions About Motive

4/21/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The opinion by then-Justice Rehnquist in Hunter v. Underwood (1985), a case about denying the right to vote for racist reasons, offers thoughtful answers to many of the hardest questions that you might ask about motive and the Muslim Ban.

Richard Primus

University of Michigan Law School

The Administration's Travel Ban Guidance Falls Short of Good Faith

6/29/17  //  Quick Reactions

As reported by the New York Times, the Administration's travel ban guidance shows a lack of respect for the Supreme Court's directive.

Amir Ali

Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

Versus Trump: Trump Versus Anti-Discrimination Laws (with guest Joshua Matz)

12/7/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Charlie, Jason, and Easha are joined by Take Care publisher Joshua Matz to talk about the Masterpiece Cake Shop oral argument, plus the status of Muslim Ban litigation and the future of Take Care.

Easha Anand

San Francisco

Charlie Gerstein

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

In A Major Immigration Case, The Government Says “We’re Going Big, So Go Home”

10/2/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The government is arguing it can deprive noncitizens of their legal rights simply by making it too difficult and painful to vindicate those rights.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Motive Matters in Assessing the Travel Ban

3/20/17  //  Commentary

To the extent that Trump’s statements about the travel ban shed light on why the executive orders were issued—and they surely do—those statements are material to the constitutional analysis.

Richard Primus

University of Michigan Law School

Lower Courts: Don’t Try This at Home

6/27/17  //  Commentary

The Supreme Court’s travel ban order deviates sharply from well-established standards for the granting of a stay. For better or for worse, the spirit of compromise trumped the letter of the law.

Daniel Hemel

University of Chicago Law School

A Different View of Why the Muslim Ban Violates the Establishment Clause

4/20/17  //  Commentary

A diverse group of leading constitutional law scholars—representing many different views about the Establishment Clause—has filed an amicus brief challenging the Muslim Ban. Here's what you need to know.

Corey Brettschneider

Brown University

Micah Schwartzman

University of Virginia School of Law

Nelson Tebbe

Brooklyn Law School

Expedited Removals, Jeopardized Due Process

8/26/19  //  Commentary

The Trump administration’s revamped expedited removal system unsettles the rulings that upheld the expedited removal system against constitutional challenges.

Kyle Skinner

Harvard Law School

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Versus Trump: California Versus The Wall [UPDATED WITH EPISODE]

3/8/18  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Jason, and Charlie discuss a recent district court opinion that rejected California's challenge to the Trump Administration's expedited border wall projects in California. Listen now!

Easha Anand

San Francisco

Charlie Gerstein

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Jason Harrow

Gerstein Harrow LLP

Sherley You’re Joking

3/27/17  //  Commentary

A confused and poorly reasoned decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit shouldn’t be read to shield agencies from judicial review whenever they happen to be following an executive order.

Nick Bagley

University of Michigan Law School

See You In Court 2.0

3/16/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Last night, a federal judge in Hawaii blocked Trump's revised entry ban. Here is a detailed analysis of its decision and an assessment of what likely will happen next in that litigation.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

On The Entry Ban, The Supreme Court Says It’s Up To Us

6/26/18  //  Quick Reactions

In Trump v. Hawaii, the Court reminded us that the courts will not be there to save us. It is up to us, instead.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

The World Is Not Made Brand New Every Morning

3/20/17  //  Commentary

Judge Kozinski thinks that we cannot account for President Trump's campaign statements in the Muslim Ban cases. That is wrong. Courts can, and should, reckon with this history in assessing whether Trump's ban comports with religious neutrality.

Jonathan Taylor

Gupta Wessler PLLC

Trump’s Approach to Crime & Punishment

3/16/17  //  Commentary

The president has continued existing policies, but also signaled a misplaced (and dangerous) reliance on immigration enforcement and incarceration to protect the public.

Chiraag Bains

Harvard Law School

Unlocking the Mysteries of the Supreme Court’s Entry Ban Case

6/27/17  //  Commentary

Many close observers of the Court are still scratching their heads, trying to figure out just exactly what the Court did yesterday in Trump v. IRAP–and why. With the luxury of a few hours to ponder the mysteries, here are some tentative speculations on the most commonly posed questions.

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

The Travel Ban's Non-Urgency, In Pictures

6/7/17  //  Commentary

The Administration's unhurried pace in defending its revised travel ban belies its representations of urgency to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Amir Ali

Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

Travel Ban Misconceptions Part III: False Analogies To “Imprecise” Campaign Talk

5/4/17  //  Commentary

Trump's promise to ban Muslims was no vague, imprecise, or passing comment made on the fly during campaign season. It was a deliberate, carefully considered, and oft-repeated promise that fit perfectly into Trump's broader vision of discrimination against American Muslims.

Amir Ali

Roderick & Solange MacArthur Justice Center

Youngstown Zone Zero

3/16/17  //  Commentary

Justice Jackson's famous separation of powers framework offers no support for President Trump's entry ban. In fact, it's irrelevant.

Leah Litman

Michigan Law School

Ian Samuel

Harvard Law School

Judge Keenan Identifies The Most Straightforward Reason Why The Entry Ban Is Unlawful

5/9/17  //  Commentary

In the Fourth Circuit argument in IRAP v. Trump, Judge Keenan put her finger on a simple, basic reason why Section 2(c) of Executive Order 13769 is unlawful—and it doesn’t have much to do with the Establishment Clause. Rather, it’s a matter of everyday statutory interpretation, and the fact that President Trump has failed to establish the necessary precondition for the exercise of his statutory authority.

Marty Lederman

Georgetown Law

SCOTUS Travel Ban Argument Post-Mortem and the Surprising Relevance of Korematsu

4/25/18  //  Commentary

Korematsu holds that in a case like this one the obligation to strictly scrutinize invidiously discriminatory policies remains even when the government asserts a facially plausible national security justification.

Michael C. Dorf

Cornell Law School

Faith in the Ninth Circuit

3/16/17  //  Commentary

An analysis of Judge Bybee's dissent from denial of rehearing en banc in Washington v. Trump, and some predictions about the future of President Trump's revised entry ban.

Daniel Hemel

University of Chicago Law School

Updates | The Week of October 2, 2017

10/8/17  //  Daily Update

The first legal challenges to the third travel ban were filed, while the parties challenging the second travel ban filed briefs on the mootness of those cases. The Trump administration began its phase-out of DACA.

Updates | The Week of September 25, 2017

10/1/17  //  Daily Update

The revised travel ban expired, potentially rendering legal challenges to it moot, and the President's new ban came into effect. Senate Republicans unveiled their proposed replacement for DACA.

Updates | The Week of August 14, 2017

8/20/17  //  Daily Update

The Trump administration filed a brief arguing that the immigration ban is not a Muslim ban.

Updates | The Week of July 31, 2017

8/6/17  //  Daily Update

The Supreme Court scheduled argument in the travel ban case.

Updates | The Week of July 17, 2017

7/23/17  //  Daily Update

The Supreme Court issued a partial stay of the district court's order granting relief to refugees from the revised travel ban. Reports suggest the President is weighing a new executive order that would expand expedited removal of undocumented immigrants.

Updates | The Week of March 20, 2017

3/26/17  //  Daily Update

The week was rich with analysis at Take Care and beyond of President Trump’s revised entry ban. The Administration has asked the Fourth Circuit to expedite the appeal. In the meantime, diplomatic cables reveal “extreme vetting” policies may be ramping up.

Helen Klein Murillo

Harvard Law School '17

Updates | The Week of May 1, 2017

5/7/17  //  Daily Update

Comparisons between President Trump’s promise to exclude Muslims from the United States and vague off-the-cuff comments during campaign season are inapt.

Updates | The Week of April 24, 2017

4/30/17  //  Daily Update

An amicus brief offered an alternative basis to find the Administration's travel ban unconstitutional.

Updates | The Week of October 16

10/21/17  //  Daily Update

Federal district court judges in Maryland and Hawaii blocked President Trump's revised travel ban, preventing the administration from enforcing key provisions of its policy.

Updates | The Week of March 27, 2017

4/2/17  //  Daily Update

Litigation over President Trump's revised travel ban order continues: a federal judge in Hawaii issued a preliminary injunction against the order, and the Fourth Circuit will take initial en banc review of a similar injunction.

Updates | The Week of April 3, 2017

4/9/17  //  Daily Update

Litigation challenging President Trump's revised immigration order continues in courts. Questions over President Trump's campaign statements and intent continue to linger.

Updates | The Week of July 3, 2017

7/9/17  //  Daily Update

A federal district judge rejected Hawaii's request to clarify the scope of the preliminary injunction against the revised travel ban. Commentary continued on the Supreme Court's decision to hear the travel ban case.

The Story Thus Far: Immigration

3/16/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump has issued two very controversial executive orders, both banning entrants from selected Muslim-majority nations. Here are some useful analyses of the story thus far.

Updates | The Week of May 8, 2017

5/14/17  //  Daily Update

The en banc Fourth Circuit heard oral arguments on the revised travel ban, sparking extensive commentary. An advocacy group filed a FOIA request related to border searches of electronic devices in the possession of individuals covered by the travel ban.

Updates | The Week of June 5, 2017

6/11/17  //  Daily Update

Discussion of the Trump administration's travel ban continued as the administration sought Supreme Court review of a nationwide injunction against the ban.

Updates | The Week of July 10, 2017

7/16/17  //  Daily Update

Hawaii's litigation against the revised travel ban continues. There is uncertainty in the Trump Administration over who controls immigration issues.

Updates | The Week of June 19, 2017

6/25/17  //  Daily Update

The Administration argues in its brief to the Supreme Court for the travel ban that the Court should not second-guess the President's national security judgments.

Updates | The Week of June 12, 2017

6/18/17  //  Daily Update

The Ninth Circuit largely upholds a lower court's injunction of President Trump's revised entry ban; the Administration responds with a request to the Supreme Court for supplemental briefing.

Updates | The Week of July 24, 2017

7/30/17  //  Daily Update

Commentary continued on the Supreme Court's holding on the revised travel ban. The Trump Administration asked the Ninth Circuit to interpret the Supreme Court's ruling narrowly.

Updates | The Week of April 10, 2017

4/16/17  //  Daily Update

This week, Hawaii asked the Ninth Circuit for full court review of the revised entry order. The Fourth Circuit, in an unusual move, agreed to hear the Trump Administration's revised entry order appeal en banc, with oral arguments set for May 8.

Updates | The Week of April 17, 2017

4/11/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump continues to sign executive orders on immigration, and advocates continue to fight them in the courts.

Take Care