Advocates File First Major Litigation Against Muslim Ban 3.0

Today, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Muslim Advocates and Covington & Burling LLP, in collaboration with the National Iranian American Council (NIAC) and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU, announced two lawsuits against the Trump administration's latest efforts to unlawfully block the entry of Muslims into the United States and to carry out President Trump's long-promised Muslim ban.

For more information, please join a press call tomorrow, Oct. 3, at 11 a.m. EST. Dial in 866-342-8591; Passcode "Muslim Ban 3"

About the Suits:

Iranian Alliances Across Borders v. Trump

Iranian Alliances Across Borders v. Trump is the first major lawsuit to be filed against the latest iteration of the Muslim ban. It was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Maryland on behalf of the Iranian Alliances Across Borders (IAAB) and six individual plaintiffs, all of whom are U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents with Iranian relatives who will be blocked from coming to the United States when the latest Muslim ban goes fully into effect on Oct. 18.

This legal action challenges President Trump's Sept. 24, 2017, Presidential Proclamation - which imposes broad restrictions on entry into the United States for nationals of several predominantly Muslim countries - as a violation of the U.S. Constitution and other federal laws.

• Click here to read the complaint.

Brennan Center for Justice v. U.S. Department of State

Brennan Center for Justice v. U.S. Department of State was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to compel the Trump Administration to release critically important details on how it came to choose which countries would be covered by Muslim Ban 3.0.

Over the summer, federal agencies purportedly conducted a worldwide review of visa issuance and data collection processes, the results of which determined which countries were included on the final list of banned countries in President Trump's Sept. 24 proclamation. The process and results of that review have been completely hidden from public view, yet they are being used to determine the fate of millions of individuals across the world.

In July, a number of civil rights organizations, including the Brennan Center for Justice, Americans United and Muslim Advocates, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on various "extreme vetting" measures enacted by the administration, including information regarding the worldwide review process. The administration has yet to comply with any part of that request, even though the statutory deadline for a response has long since passed. This litigation seeks immediate disclosure of just one element of this multi-part request: the report on the basis of which the Muslim Ban 3.0 countries were selected.

• Click here to read the complaint.
• Click here to read the original FOIA.
• Click here to read the Brennan Center's report on Extreme Vetting and the Muslim Ban.

According to Richard B. Katskee, legal director of Americans United: "This is the third time that President Trump has tried to implement the Muslim ban, and it's still designed to exclude people because of their religious beliefs. The only thing that's really different here is that the Trump administration is now trying to make this appalling ban permanent. Religious freedom is about fairness. When we treat one group of people unfairly because of their religious beliefs, that's a threat to the religious freedom of all Americans."

According to Johnathan Smith, legal director of Muslim Advocates: "President Trump's latest Muslim ban remains as unjust and unlawful as the prior versions. Banning people because of their religion or national origin doesn't make our country safer; all it does is tear apart families and propagate bigotry and discrimination. Through these two legal filings today, we seek to hold this administration accountable and make clear that no one - including the President - is above the law. You shouldn't have to file a lawsuit to see your fiance or grandmother, but that's what we have to do so that our plaintiffs can be reunited with their loved ones."

According to Shayan Modarres, legal counsel for the National Iranian American Council: "Iranian Americans, and other affected communities, have had to familiarize themselves with ambiguous new laws and policies every few months because of this president's obsession with fulfilling a flawed campaign promise to ban Muslims from the United States. This erosion of fundamental American values must stop. We are using every tool and legal remedy available to us to stop xenophobia and bigotry from becoming the official immigration policy of the United States."

According to Mana Kharraz, Executive Director of Iranian Alliances Across Borders: "Over the past year, our members have been subject to discrimination in their schools and subways. We have been separated from our loved ones and had to endure this administration's continued campaign to divide our families. Our youth are witness to a rise in hatred that puts our country in jeopardy of ushering in a dark chapter of bigotry becoming US policy. We have a right to exist and be protected in the U.S. without becoming pawns in an agenda that has little to do with safety and security."

According to Faiza Patel, co-director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University: "We need more information on the president's decision to blacklist certain countries. Given his repeated insistence that he wants to ban Muslims from the United States, we cannot take his word that the most recent version of the ban is motivated by national security considerations rather than prejudice."