Trump fires top government lawyer for defiance on immigration order

Sen. Bernie Sanders, center, speaks with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., left, and other members of Congress, in front of the Supreme Court about President Donald Trump's recent executive orders in Washington Jan. 30, 2017.[Photo/IC]

COURT ACTION LOOMS

US stocks suffered their biggest drop of 2017 on Monday as investors took the curb on immigration as a reminder that not all the new president's policies would be market-friendly.

Chaos broke out over the weekend as border and customs officials struggled to put the order into practice amid loud protests at major US airports. Federal judges blocked deportation of those detained under the order.

An internal Department of Homeland Security document seen by Reuters showed 348 visa holders were kept from boarding US-bound flights this week, and more than 200 people came to the United States but were denied entry.

More than 735 people were pulled aside for questioning by US Customs and Border Protection officers in airports, including 394 green card holders, who are legal permanent residents of the United States, the document said.

Trump's order was developed hastily and was not extensively reviewed by the agencies which are now grappling with implementing it. Trump's administration is granting waivers from the refugee ban to allow 872 people into the country this week - refugees that had already been cleared for resettlement in the United States and were in transit when the order came out.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the country's biggest Muslim advocacy group, filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of more than 20 people on Monday.

Several Democratic state attorneys general, including those from California and New York, have said they are considering whether to take legal action against the order.

Washington state will be the first. "It is an insult and a danger to all of the people of the state of Washington, of all faiths," Governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat, told reporters.

Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said the lawsuit would include constitutional claims, including allegations that Trump's order violates the equal protection clause and the First Amendment.

Those arguments are also being used in other lawsuits filed over the weekend on behalf of individuals detained at US airports.

Technology companies Amazon.com Inc and Expedia Inc , both of which are based in Washington state's Seattle area, will support the state's suit, Ferguson said.

Another Washington state company, Microsoft Corp, said it has been cooperating with the attorney general's office to provide information about the order's impact "in order to be supportive."

Other companies also went public with concerns, including the chief executives of Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Ford Motor Co.

CHORUS OF CONDEMNATION

Democratic lawmakers introduced legislation on Monday seeking to block Trump's order, but the measures were unlikely to advance without support from Trump's fellow Republicans, who control majorities in both houses of Congress and have largely expressed support for his actions.

Former President Obama took the rare step of weighing in, saying through a spokesman that he was heartened by the political activism on the issue.

But White House spokesman Sean Spicer argued Trump's move was popular with Americans who are worried about attacks.

On Twitter, Trump downplayed the number of people who were affected at airports. He appeared to blame the airport confusion on protesters as well as on New York Senator Chuck Schumer, who teared up over the weekend while discussing the ban, and even a computer system failure at Delta Air Lines Inc late on Sunday.

US officials said the State Department received multiple cables from US embassies over the weekend reporting foreign dissatisfaction at the order.

Officials from the department circulated a draft memo of dissent, saying Trump's move would hurt America's image abroad and inflame anti-American sentiment.

The Iraqi parliament voted to ask the country's government to retaliate against the United States, putting at risk cooperation in the fight against Islamic State.

A government official in Baghdad said Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari plans to meet the US ambassador soon to express dismay at Trump's decision.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson joined a chorus of concern expressed by US allies, ranging from Iraq to Germany.

"This is, of course, a highly controversial policy, which has caused unease and, I repeat, this is not an approach that this government would take," Johnson told parliament.