Lawyers for Washington state and Minnesota are warning of consequences if a federal appellate court restores President Trump's order temporarily barring refugees and people from seven predominately Muslim countries from entering the U.S.

Lawyers for the two states said in briefs filed early Monday with the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that lifting the order would "unleash chaos again," The Associated Press reported.

In the briefs, the two states said the president's order was unconstitutional and wrote of harm it has caused to people in the country.

A federal appeals court on Sunday rejected the Department of Justice's request to reinstate the president's travel ban.

ADVERTISEMENT

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco denied the Justice Department's request for an emergency stay, pending full considering of the motion.

The court requested a response from attorneys general in Washington state and Minnesota on Sunday and from the administration by Monday afternoon.

The Justice Department had filed a notice Saturday night that it would formally appeal a temporary nationwide restraining order issued by a federal judge in Seattle on Friday, which immediately halted the immigration order.

Trump's executive order spurred backlash from lawmakers and sparked protests across the country. It bars people from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Libya and Somalia from entering the U.S. for 90 days, suspends refugee resettlement for 120 days and Syrian refugee resettlement indefinitely.