16 Mar, 2017
Trump’s rump gets kicked again: Hawaii judge blocks Muslim Ban V.2
A federal judge in Hawaii on Wednesday (15 March) halted President Donald Trump’s new travel ban that was supposed to take effect at midnight – one of a series of blows against the administration’s order since January. The order would temporarily bar refugees and people from six Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.
Trump blasted the ruling during a campaign-style rally in Nashville Wednesday night, calling an “unprecedented judicial overreach” and pledged to fight it “as far as it needs to go including all the way up to the Supreme Court.”
In Hawaii, the state’s attorney general and a Muslim imam who lives there sued to block the ban. Attorneys argued that the ban will harm the state’s Muslim population, tourism and foreign students.
Statement by Muslim Advocates
A statement by Farhana Khera, Executive Director, Muslim Advocates, said: When President Trump announced he was going to issue another Muslim Ban, we promised we would stand with you and fight back for as long as it took. Just a few minutes ago, a federal judge blocked the Muslim ban for a second time.
This is a huge victory, but the fight is far from over….President Trump is clearly committed to writing anti-Muslim bigotry into the law regardless of the cost. But we’re committed to fighting for a country where all people can live and pray free from discrimination.
In the days ahead, there will be more court challenges and battles to win. But we’re going to keep fighting, and our goal is simple: to stop the Muslim Ban permanently.
CAIR Welcomes Hawaii Judge’s Order Blocking Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban 2.0’ Nationwide
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 3/15/2017) – The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, tonight welcomed an order issued by a federal judge in Hawaii blocking President Trump’s new “Muslim Ban 2.0” executive order..
That presidential executive order, issued March 6, preserved major components of the original Muslim ban, including halting new visas and green cards for people from six majority-Muslim countries Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen stopping all refugees from entering the United States for 120 days and limiting total refugee admissions. The ban was set to go into effect just after midnight tonight.
Today’s federal court order stated in part: “The illogic of the Government’s contentions is palpable. The notion that one can demonstrate animus toward any group of people only by targeting all of them at once is fundamentally flawed.”
It also stated: “Any reasonable, objective observer would conclude, as does the Court for purposes of the instant Motion for TRO, that the stated secular purpose of the Executive Order is, at the very least, ‘secondary to a religious objective’ of temporarily suspending the entry of Muslims.”
SEE: Federal Judge in Hawaii Puts Trump’s New Travel Ban on Hold
“We welcome this order as confirmation of the strength of our nation’s system of checks and balances that prevents one branch of government from violating the Constitution or the rights of any vulnerable group,” said CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad. “We urge the Trump administration to scrap this Muslim ban entirely because it disrespects both the Constitution and America’s longstanding tradition of religious freedom and inclusion.”
Last month, CAIR similarly welcomed a federal appeals court’s decision to maintain a freeze on President Trump’s first “Muslim ban.
SEE: CAIR Applauds Appeals Court’s Ruling Against Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban’ Executive Order
CAIR had filed its own federal lawsuit on behalf of more than 20 named and “john doe” individuals challenging the constitutionality of the original Muslim ban.
A hearing is scheduled for March 21 in Virginia on a second CAIR filing seeking for a temporary restraining order on the new ban. In that filing, CAIR argued that the “Muslim ban 2.0” results the same discriminatory outcome as the original order.
ADC Welcomes Decision to Halt Arab & Muslim Ban 2.0
Washington, D.C. | www.adc.org | March 15, 2017 – The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) welcomes the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Derrick Watson in the case of Hawaii vs. Trump.
Earlier this evening Judge Watson issued a Temporary Restraining Order, which immediately halts implementation of the Arab and Muslim Ban. The courts have once again served as a check and balance to an administration bent implementing discriminatory policies. Since its implementation in January the Arab and Muslim ban has had a direct effect on thousands of our community members worldwide. The ban has disrupted the lives of many people; it has prevented people from continuing their education, receiving needed medical treatment and uniting with their families. >From the start this ban has been about one thing – fulfilling a campaign promise built on xenophobia and Islamophobia.
Moving forward the right thing for the Trump to do is rescind this order. Additionally, Trump must immediately stop trying to block immigrants and refugees from entering this country. Additionally, Trump must stop implementing discriminatory policies, which target individuals based on their national origin and religion. In fact, the court order made it clear – the intent of the administration is to implement a Muslim ban, just as Trump promised on the campaign trail. The Trump administration should recognize that no amount of edits or tweaks to the original executive order will undo the discriminatory intent behind this policy.
As a community we will continue to stand steadfast against the proposition and implementation of a ban. We will continue to stand against and do our part to resist the continue attack on immigrants by this administration.
Backgrounder by the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee:
Washington, D.C. | www.adc.org | March 15, 2017 – On March 6, 2017, Donald Trump signed the Arab and Muslim Ban 2.0. The Executive Order’s (EO) aim is to ban Arabs and Muslims from entering the United States.
The new order is essentially the same as the old one. It bans nationals from six countries, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Further, the order suspends the entry of refugees for 120 days. This ban is not about national security; in fact the Department of Homeland Security issued a report indicating that the ban does not make America any safer. This ban is about xenophobia and Islamophobia.
Breakdown of the Arab and Muslim Ban 2.0
ADC & Penn State Summary of the New Executive Order
Editor’s note:
The legal battles being waged by groups such as Muslim Advocates, the Council of American Islamic Relations are American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee are important to defend the rights of the Islamic community in the United States, as well as the entire travel & tourism industry globally and the cause of freedom, democracy and human liberty worldwide. Readers who would like to support these legal challenges, can contribute to these three organisations by clicking on these links:
Council of American Islamic Relations
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee
And for those who would also like to contribute to Travel Impact Newswire for fearless journalism that other travel publications can only talk about, click here.
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