Amazon and Expedia this week endorsed Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s lawsuit opposing President Trump’s immigration executive order.
The complaint says the mandate violates the US Constitution and federal Immigration and Nationality Act. It “asks the court to declare major sections of the Executive Order illegal and unconstitutional and to enjoin the Trump Administration from enforcing the policy.”
“No one is above the law—not even the President,” Ferguson said in a statement. “And in the courtroom, it is not the loudest voice that prevails. It’s the Constitution.”
In a declaration of support, Amazon wrote that Trump’s ban “immediately—and negatively—impacted employees, dependents of employees, and candidates for employment with Amazon.”
Ayesha Blackwell-Hawkins, senior manager of mobility and immigration at Amazon, counted 49 employees born in one of the countries identified in the executive order. Another seven people—born in Iran, but citizens of Germany, Canada, and Australia—have received offers of employment with the company.
Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, meanwhile, is prohibited from attending next month’s Academy Awards, where his movie The Salesman, distributed by Amazon Studios, is nominated for Best Foreign Film.
“From the very beginning, Amazon has been committed to equal rights, tolerance, and diversity—and we always will be,” Blackwell-Hawkins said. “As we’ve grown the company, we’ve worked hard to attract talented people from all over the world.”
Bellevue-based Expedia, meanwhile argues that “the executive order jeopardizes its corporate mission and could have a detrimental impact on its business and employees, as well as the broader US and global travel and tourism industry,” general counsel Robert Dzielak said.
As of Jan. 29—two days after the regulation was passed—at least 1,000 Expedia customers who hold passports issued by one of the seven impacted countries have purchased trips that involve flights to, from, or through the US, according to Dzielak.
