Legal challenges against President Donald Trump's revised travel ban are mounting as Washington, New York and Massachusetts states said they would request to block the executive order.
It comes a day after Hawaii launched its own lawsuit, and Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson said both Oregon and New York had asked to join his state's legal action on Thursday.
Washington was the first state to sue over the original ban, which resulted in Judge James Robart in Seattle halting its implementation around the country. Ferguson said the state would ask Robart to rule that his temporary restraining order against the first ban applies to Trump's revised action.
Trump's revised ban bars new visas for people from six predominantly Muslim countries: Somalia, Iran, Syria, Sudan, Libya and Yemen. It also temporarily shuts down the US refugee program.
Unlike the initial order, the new one says current visa holders won't be affected, and removes language that would give priority to religious minorities.
Ferguson said it is not the government, but the court, that gets to decide whether the revised order is different enough that it would not be covered by previous temporary restraining order.
"It cannot be a game of whack-a-mole for the court," he said. "That TRO we've already obtained remains in effect."
In filing a lawsuit Wednesday night, Hawaii said the revised order would harm its Muslim population, tourism and foreign students
In his initial lawsuit Ferguson said the original ban was unconstitutional and hurt the state's businesses and universities.
A federal appellate court later upheld a temporary restraining order issued against the first travel ban.
The Trump administration says the old order will be revoked once the new one goes into effect on March 16.
