![North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein Madeline GrayNorth State Journal](https://nsjonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/8530_092016_ag_debate_mg_03o-678x381.jpg)
RALEIGH — North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein has joined 15 states in a lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries that are considered terrorist beds.
Stein filed a Friend of the Court Brief that asks the panel of judges to uphold a stay issued by a lower court on the executive immigration action. Stein has said he believes the ban to be unconstitutional, alleging that it discriminates on the basis of religion.
The N.C. attorney general said in an interview he was moved to file the action in order to protect North Carolinians that may be affected by the ban and the “ham-handed way in which it was written and is being administered.”
The U.S. Justice Department has filed an appeal in 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco which had hearings on Tuesday to reinstate the executive order, saying the ban was meant to permit an orderly review and revision of screening procedures to ensure that adequate standards are in place to protect against terrorist attacks.