CAIR Decries U.S. Supreme Court's Decision Allowing Muslim Ban to Remain in Effect

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation's largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today decried the U.S. Supreme Court's decision announced this morning to allow the Muslim Ban 3.0 to remain in effect.

WATCH: CAIR News Conference Reacting to the Supreme Court Decision
https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational/videos/10155848247602695/

In a 5-4 decision, the court reversed an injunction that had -- until December 2017 -- prevented the Trump administration from using the Muslim Ban 3.0 as a basis for denying visas to foreign nationals from eight affected countries.

In her dissent, Justice Sotomayor wrote: "A reasonable observer would conclude that the Proclamation was driven primarily by anti-Muslim animus, rather than by the Government's asserted national-security justifications. Even before being sworn into office, then-candidate Trump stated that 'Islam hates us.'"

"Today's ruling sits alongside other similarly shameful Supreme Court decisions allowing Japanese American internment and segregation," said CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri.

"The Muslim community will join other advocates of civil rights to show the ban for what it is -- an illegal expression of anti-Muslim animosity," said CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas.

In a statement in reaction to today's ruling, CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said:

"This is a setback; not the end of the road. Today, the Supreme Court made it clear that the responsibility will continue to be on the American Muslim community and its allies to push for an end to the Muslim Ban.

"The Supreme Court's decision is an invitation to inject discrimination back into our immigration system. More than half a century ago, Congress abandoned a racist immigration system that preferred some races over others. This decision is an abandonment of that milestone.

"The Muslim Ban's bigotry should have been as clear to the Supreme Court as it is to the Muslims demonized by it. Apparently, everyone but the Supreme Court can see the decision for what it is: an expression of animosity."

In its decision, the Supreme Court granted extreme deference to the Trump administration, which gives the administration the green light to inject discrimination back into the immigration system.

Since the Trump administration's first attempt to ban Muslim immigration to the United States, CAIR has filed legal challenges to each of the ban's permutations.

SEE CAIR'S First Muslim Ban Lawsuit:
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/1/31/sarsour_v_trump_palestinian_american_activist

In the Supreme Court, CAIR had filed an amicus brief on behalf of six individuals who successfully obtained an injunction against Muslim Ban 3.0 from a federal court in Maryland.

The brief -- filed in the wake of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit's decision in February declaring Trump's Muslim ban unconstitutional ? states in part: "The injuries suffered by the [plaintiffs] are beyond the pale. If they are beyond the power of the courts to remedy, we fear for what is yet to come."

[NOTE: CAIR and the Brennan Center for Justice filed the lawsuit in October 2017. On appeal, that case, Zakzok v. Trump, was consolidated with two others and was jointly decided by the Fourth Circuit.]

SEE: 'The Words of the President' Doom Trump Travel Ban, Fourth Circuit Says

In December of last year, CAIR applauded the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' unanimous decision against the Trump administration's "Muslim Ban 3.0."

CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.

CONTACT: CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, [email protected]; CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, [email protected]; CAIR National Litigation Director Lena Masri, 248-390-9784, [email protected]; CAIR Trial Attorney Carolyn Homer, 317-752-3090, [email protected]; CAIR Trial Attorney Ahmed Mohamed, 225-315-5060, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)