A Syrian refugee living in Dane County filed a lawsuit this month against President Trump's now-stalled travel ban. The U.S. granted the man asylum because soldiers in Syria had imprisoned and tortured him, but his wife and three-year-old daughter remained behind, in Aleppo. He had applied for his family to join him but said the Trump ban halted the procedure, so he sued.
The U.S. Justice Dept. replied to his suit on Friday. The agency says that staff continued processing his application, even after Trump issued his executive order halting immigration from seven primarily Muslim nations, including Syria. The department also asked the judge to halt the lawsuit, until the president issues a new version of his order, which is expected next week.
Opponents of Trump's initial ban have won a couple rounds in federal court putting the order on hold, at least temporarily, pending future hearings on its legality.
Also on Friday, Madison joined nearly three-dozen other cities and counties challenging Trump's Jan. 27 travel ban, by filing a friend-of-the-court brief in support of a federal lawsuit pending in New York. The local leaders claim immigrants benefit their cities and that the ban is cruel. Other cities involved include Chicago and Minneapolis.