'Aloha spirit' is behind Hawaii's fight against Trump's travel ban

Douglas Chin says there’s a lot at stake in the legal argument over the latest version of President Donald Trump’s travel ban.

Like Hawaii’s “aloha spirit,” said Chin, the state’s attorney general.

He’ll argue Hawaii’s challenge to the travel ban before the 9

Circuit Court of Appeals, meeting Wednesday in Seattle.

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the third version of the ban to take effect, even as challenges continue. The restrictions on entering the U.S. would apply to most citizens of six Muslim-majority countries, along with those in North Korea and Venezuela.

The Trump administration has argued that the restrictions are necessary for national security.

But Chin said that doesn’t sit well with Hawaiians.

“Even though we might be the 50

state, in some ways we’re the first state, in terms of embracing ethnic diversity, in terms of being inclusive, of opening our doors to people,” said Chin, a 1984 graduate of Newport High School in Bellevue.

“A lot of it has to do with because we’re a very remote island, but I think it’s a great model for how the rest of the world could be.”

The case will be heard at the federal courthouse downtown, starting at 2 p.m.