4,000 Lawyers Volunteered To Oppose Immigration Order

Just days into the new administration, thousands of lawyers volunteered over the weekend to oppose President Trump’s executive order blocking many immigrants and refugees from entering the country. Judges partially blocked Trump’s temporary restrictions. Litigation could last for years. Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project, said the work over the weekend was focused on addressing immediate harm. He expects broader challenges in the future. The order blocks refugees entry into the U.S. for 120 days (Syrian refugees indefinitely), and citizens of of seven mostly Muslim countries for 90 days. Officials from the ACLU, the National Immigration Law Center, and the International Refugee Assistance Project, said rotating shifts of lawyers were stationed at major airports to help immigrants and refugees detained or disrupted by the order. Major law firms like Mayer Brown, Kirkland & Ellis, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, and others are among those filing lawsuits on behalf of immigrants affected by the ban. The ACLU reported that it received $24 million in donations over the weekend, roughly six times its annual average donation level.