CAIR to Welcome Home to Mississippi a Mother Separated from Husband, Critically-Ill Infant Daughter by Muslim Ban

WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On Friday, January 26, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) will welcome home to Mississippi the wife of Fahed Muqbil, a CAIR plaintiff challenging Muslim Ban 3.0 who has received one of the first-ever waivers from that Trump administration executive order. 

Muqbil and his wife Amal, are scheduled to land at Jackson International Airport in Jacksonville, Miss., Friday evening at 11 p.m. CAIR will host a press conference at the airport with the family. 

WHAT: CAIR News Conference at Jackson International Airport for a Mississippi Family Impacted by the Muslim Ban
WHERE: Jackson International Airport, Jacksonville, Mississippi
WHEN: Friday, January 26, 11 p.m. (Central) Scheduled Arrival Time, News Conference to Follow the Family's Arrival
CONTACT: CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 248-390-9784, [email protected]; CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, [email protected]

Muqbil's wife, a Yemeni national, will use her visa to enter the United States to be reunited with her baby daughter -- a U.S. citizen -- who suffers from severe medical conditions that led to life-threatening surgeries. That child, the youngest of the family's two daughters, suffers from a debilitating birth defect and requires advanced medical care not available in war-torn Yemen. 

Due to the Muslim ban, Muqbil and his one-year old critically-ill daughter have been separated from his wife and older daughter, who live abroad and have been awaiting the approval of the wife's visa to come to the United States.

"The Trump administration's Muslim Ban affects the lives of Americans like Fahed, whose family has been separated by these discriminatory immigration restrictions," said CAIR National Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas. "We expect customs officials to spare Fahed's family more heartache, and to allow them to enter the United States without delay."

Just last month, the Supreme Court issued two orders staying the Hawaii and Maryland federal courts' injunctions that had, until December 4, 2017, largely prevented the Trump administration from implementing Muslim Ban 3.0's visa restrictions. 

Although the Supreme Court's December 4th decision allowed Muslim Ban 3.0 to go into effect now, the Supreme Court will soon have the opportunity to reinstate the injunctions issued by lower courts in October later this year.  

In October of last year, CAIR and the Brennan Center for Justice filed suit against President Trump's Muslim Ban on behalf of six American Muslims impacted by the immigration restrictions. Civil rights attorneys, including CAIR National attorney Gadeir Abbas, delivered oral arguments against the ban in mid-October.  

On appeal, this case, Zakzok v. Trump, was consolidated with two others, and all are pending before the Fourth Circuit. Oral argument was held on December 8th, in Richmond, Va.

Video: CAIR, Other Civil Rights Groups Hold Presser After Md. Court Arguments on Trump's Muslim Ban

The appeal regards a Maryland court's decision to prevent the Trump Administration from implementing most of Muslim Ban 3.0.  In a broad ruling on October 18th, U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang granted CAIR and other groups' request for a nationwide injunction prohibiting the Trump administration from implementing its latest attempt to exclude Muslims from the United States. 

Judge Chuang ruled that the plaintiffs were likely to ultimately succeed in proving that anti-Muslim animus motivated the travel ban in violation of the Establishment Clause. He also noted that the ban violates federal law, which forbids the government from discriminating against visa applicants based on their nationality.

SEE: Second Judge Rules Against Latest Travel Ban, Saying Trump's Own Words Show It Was Aimed at Muslims

In September, CAIR -- with the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law and Profeta & Eisenstein -- filed an amicus brief with U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of seven American Muslims.

READ Amicus Brief

These groups also filed an amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit in August.

Read CAIR's Amicus Brief

In January 2017, just days after Trump signed the first Muslim ban executive order, CAIR filed suit.

SEE: CAIR Files Federal Suit Challenging Constitutionality of Trump's 'Muslim Ban' Executive Order

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.

La misión de CAIR es mejorar la comprensión del Islam, fomentar el diálogo, proteger las libertades civiles, capacitar a los musulmanes estadounidenses, y construir coaliciones que promuevan la justicia y la comprensión mutua.     

CONTACT: CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 248-390-9784, [email protected]; CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)