By Muslim Ban 1.0
During his presidential campaign, Donald Trump advocated for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” and within a week of being inaugurated into the Oval Office, he issued an Executive Order “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.”
It immediately became clear that this was the Muslim Ban, a foundational premise of his campaign, targetting seven Muslim majority countries and travelers from these countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen. Refugees, permanent residents (green card holders) and non-U.S. dual nationals from these countries were detained en masse, prompting hundreds of lawyers, volunteers and translators to support individuals detained or delayed at airports. Thousands of protesters swarming airports from JFK to LAX .
Within 48 hours, several federal lawsuits were filed in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington on behalf of travelers who were detained in airports in the United States, and within a week U.S. Federal District Judge James Robart issued a restraining order. Judge Robart’s decision was ultimately upheld by a federal appeals court, blocking the ban on Feb. 4, 2016. Ultimately, the ban was determined to be unconstitutional.
Muslim Ban 2.0
On June 29, 2016, after months of litigation in court, the second iteration of the “Muslim Ban” was issued, dropping Iraq as a banned state, and fully blocking the issuance of visas for 90 days to people traveling on passports from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and or Yemen to the United States, unless those travelers could establish a “bona fide relationship” with someone or something in the U.S.
The ban was accompanied by a complete refugee ban for 120 days. The ban still separated and isolated family members vis a vis the depressed definition of “bona fide relationship,” and stranded refugees escaping war and escalation of violence at the direct imposition of the U.S.’s foreign policy.
President Trump’s newest travel ban is still a Muslim ban at its core…
Two hours prior to the second version of the ban was set to be implemented, the state of Hawaii filed a motion to challenge the ban and the broad range of individuals that the ban isolated.
Muslim Ban 3.0
Most recently, the newest version of the Executive Order that was signed indefinitely banned all travelers from all nations included in the ban and added North Korea, Chad and Venezuela to the list, re-including Iraq.
“President Trump’s newest travel ban is still a Muslim ban at its core, and it certainly engages in discrimination based on national origin, which is unlawful,” according to the ACLU’s executive director, Anthony Romero.
Immediately, lawsuits were filed against the court, the first of which was issued by the Iranian Alliances Across Borders (IAAB), National Iranian American Council (NIAC), Muslim Advocates, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, and the law firm of Covington Burling LLP.
This ban has had a tremendously negative effect on our communities.
Mana Kharrazi is the Executive Director of Iranian Alliances Across Borders, a youth-centered organization which aims to “strengthen the Iranian diaspora community through leadership and educational programming that encourages collaboration and solidarity across various borders and multiple communities.”
In a press release announcing the lawsuit, she stated:
“This ban has had a tremendously negative effect on our communities. As an organization, Iranian Alliances Across Borders has had to support Iranian Americans affected the ban. We’ve heard of stories such as the other plaintiffs in this case – Iranian Americans separated from their fiances and partners; siblings who have differing immigration statuses who will now be kept apart indefinitely.
I lead a community of young Iranian Americans and train them as leaders – knowing that they will inherit the successes – and the failures – of our generation. I support a young generation who have faced increasing discrimination over the past year, who have had to answer for the political decisions made by this administration in their schools and on subways – being forced to endure xenophobia and bigotry in the only country they know and call their home.
I grew up without grandparents, aunts, and uncles – though I come from a large family – because we were the only members to make it to the United States. To know that nearly 30 years later, this may be the fate of our youngest generation despite all the progress our community has made – is truly heartbreaking. Students who live and study in the United States have no less a right to know and love their families, to see their parents.
I am beholden to a generation of who deserve to know their roots, to share their lives with their loved ones, and to be protected as members of this country.
We are Iranian Alliances Across Borders – much of our work relies on building across these imagined borders so that we can positively contribute to our societies and to improve our communities. How can we when these borders are now being held against us indefinitely?”
…the latest ban “suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor.”
Federal courts in Hawaii and Maryland blocked the newest version of the ban, with U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson in Hawaii citing that the latest ban “suffers from precisely the same maladies as its predecessor.” District Judge Theodore D. Chuang in Maryland agreed and referred to past statements made and documents posted by then-candidate Trump inciting the targeting of Muslims in his memo, writing that “This Court is obligated to pay attention to such statements.”
In response to the federal block, Kharrazi embraced the diverse communities IAAB serves, stating:
“Today is such a proud day for youth we serve at IAAB. When our members connect with family members, friends and community members from across the Iranian diaspora, it changes futures, enriches lives, and roots them in a meaningful sense of community and responsibility. Our youth spoke up in court and they won. When grounded in community and sense of justice, the young people of IAAB can even beat the most powerful man in the world.
We know that the ban is not totally gone and that graduations, weddings, and family gatherings will continue to be interrupted, and that our youth will continue to face harassment and hostility. So we will continue to speak out against the ban and religious discrimination in all its forms.”
Like previous rulings, the Justice Department is anticipated to appeal the rulings from Hawaii and Maryland which would also send this version of the Ban to the Supreme Court.
Good going