RICHMOND, Va. - A group of 12 state attorneys general and one governor is urging a federal appeals court to allow Donald Trump's revised travel ban targeting six predominantly Muslim countries to take effect.

In a brief filed in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday, the states say the president's executive order is not a "pretext for religious discrimination." They say the president acted lawfully in the interest of national security.

The states are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia. Gov. Phil Bryant of Mississippi also joined.

The states are urging the Richmond-based appeals court to overturn a lower court ruling that blocked the ban from going into effect. A judge in Hawaii has issued a separate ruling blocking the executive order.