The Atlanta lawyer who served as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s first general counsel said he believes that President Donald Trump’s executive order suspending the issuance of U.S. entry visas to citizens of seven Middle Eastern and African nations passes constitutional muster.
Joe Whitley—who in 2003 was sworn in as the newly-minted department’s general counsel as the U.S. was invading Iraq—said the Constitution gives the president authority to protect the nation and its borders. Historically that presidential prerogative has been interpreted as a “wide-ranging” control over who and what enters the U.S., whether human beings or goods and merchandise, said Whitley, now a Baker Donelson partner. Trump’s order, he said, is in keeping with that authority.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
