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Cover image via Deseret News. 

American Mormons still endure “pernicious consequences” created by U.S. government discrimination against them in the 1800s, says a legal brief filed against President Trump’s travel ban in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The friend-of-the court brief filed by 19 Mormon Studies and history scholars — not all of them Mormon — goes beyond a vivid re-telling of the story of legalized 19th-century anti-Mormonism, which included tidbits that might surprise some members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The brief warned the court that the president’s executive order halting immigration from Muslim-majority countries would legalize anti-Muslim sentiment, and that based on the Mormon experience, which included heavy anti-immigrant sentiment and federal efforts to restrict Mormon immigration, the consequences could last for decades or longer.

The 9th Circuit is scheduled to hear Hawaii v. Trump on May 15. C-SPAN will broadcast the hearing. Trump issued Executive Order 13,780 — “Protecting The Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States” on March 6. The order suspends the entry of people from six countries — Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen — for at least 90 days.

The brief’s lead author believes it provides an opportunity for the court to scrutinize the executive order in a way that didn’t exist when the U.S. government acted against Mormons.

To read the full article on the Deseret News, click here.