California Attorney General Xavier Becerra joined fifteen attorneys general from New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Virginia, Oregon, Connecticut, Vermont, Illinois, New Mexico, Iowa, Maine, Maryland and the District of Columbia, condemning President Donald Trump’s executive order. He released the following statement on his decision to condemn the Executive Order:

“As the chief legal officers for over 130 million Americans and foreign residents of our states, we condemn President Trump’s unconstitutional, un-American and unlawful Executive Order and will work together to ensure the federal government obeys the Constitution, respects our history as a nation of immigrants, and does not unlawfully target anyone because of their national origin or faith.

Religious liberty has been, and always will be, a bedrock principle of our country and no president can change that truth.

[Saturday], multiple federal courts ordered a stay of the Administration’s dangerous Executive Order. We applaud those decisions and will use all of the tools of our offices to fight this unconstitutional order and preserve our nation’s national security and core values.

We are confident that the Executive Order will ultimately be struck down by the courts. In the meantime, we are committed to working to ensure that as few people as possible suffer from the chaotic situation that it has created.”

Attorney General Xavier Becerra issued the following statement, in response to President Donald Trump’s executive order regarding refugees:

“Justice in America doesn’t live or die on the stroke of one man’s pen regardless of how high his office.

The Trump Administration’s anti-religion, anti-refugee executive order is in so many ways unjust and anti-American. It discriminates against human beings based on their faith. It denies entry to those with proven and legitimate fears of death and persecution. It tramples on centuries of American tradition.

I have conferred with my team, and we are reaching out to others as well, to find every avenue possible to defend our family members and those who live permanently in our communities who may be barred from re-entry into America. We will do all we can for refugees who have met our country’s legal test for admission to escape death and persecution. We will use every tool within our authority to offer victims of the Trump Administration’s overreach a fighting chance to overcome but another cruel barrier to their flight to freedom.

The Trump executive order should not stand and must be confronted as a constitutional overreach.”