Lawyers for Washington state and Minnesota have told a federal appellate court that restoring President Donald Trump's ban on refugees and travellers from seven predominantly Muslim countries would "unleash chaos again".

Key points: The suit brought by Washington and Minnesota resulted in a nationwide hold on Trump's travel ban

The suit brought by Washington and Minnesota resulted in a nationwide hold on Trump's travel ban Former secretaries of state John Kerry and Madeleine Albright say ban is "beneath the dignity" of the US

Former secretaries of state John Kerry and Madeleine Albright say ban is "beneath the dignity" of the US Tech companies, including Apple, Google, Uber and Tesla, have also lodged arguments against the ban

The filing with the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco came early on Monday after the White House said it expected the federal courts to reinstate the ban.

Washington and Minnesota said their underlying lawsuit was strong and a nationwide temporary restraining order was appropriate.

If the appellate court reinstated Mr Trump's ban, the states said, the "ruling would reinstitute those harms, separating families, stranding our university students and faculty, and barring travel".

The rapid-fire legal manoeuvres by the two states were accompanied by a declaration filed by John Kerry and Madeleine Albright, former secretaries of state, along with former national security officials under President Barack Obama.

They said Mr Trump's ban would disrupt lives and cripple US counter-terrorism partnerships around the world without making the nation safer.

"It will aid [the Islamic State terrorist group's] propaganda effort and serve its recruitment message by feeding into the narrative that the United States is at war with Islam," the six-page declaration filed in court read.

"Blanket bans of certain countries or classes of people are beneath the dignity of the nation and constitution that we each took oaths to protect."

The technology industry also argued against the ban, contending it would harm their companies by making it more difficult to recruit employees.

Tech giants — including Apple, Google, Uber, and Elon Musk's Tesla and SpaceX — filed their arguments with the court late on Sunday.

The Government had until close of business on Monday (10:00am AEDT) to file a response to the Washington and Minnesota findings.

Mr Trump's executive order was founded on a claim of national security, but lawyers for the two states told the court the administration's move hurt residents, businesses and universities and was unconstitutional.

The 9th Circuit Court has already turned down a request to set aside immediately the ruling of Seattle's Judge James Robart that put a temporary hold on the ban nationwide.

In the latest filing, lawyers for Washington state and Minnesota said: "Defendants now ask this court to unleash chaos again by staying the district court order. The court should decline."

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That ruling last Friday prompted an ongoing Twitter rant by Mr Trump, who dismissed Judge Robart as a "so-called judge" whose decision was "ridiculous".

Mr Trump renewed his Twitter attacks against Judge Robart on Sunday, saying: "Just cannot believe a judge would put our country in such peril. If something happens blame him and court system. People pouring in. Bad!"

He followed with another tweet saying he had instructed the Homeland Security Department to check people coming into the country but that "the courts are making the job very difficult!"

AP