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March 15, 2017
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Applauds Federal Court Order Blocking Revised Travel Ban
LOS ANGELES – Today, a Federal court in Hawaii blocked a second attempt by President Trump to ban Muslims from entering the country.
“We applaud the court for recognizing the blatant discriminatory intent behind the executive order,” said Elica Vafaie, Staff Attorney and Program Manager at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus. “If this is implemented, it will have devastating consequences for our communities.”
“Muslim Ban 2.0” is merely one of the administration’s attempts to strip away basic civil rights and target Arab, Middle Eastern, Muslim and South Asian immigrants and other immigrant communities.
“We refuse to return to the era of Japanese Internment where the government led the way in profiling people because of their national origin,” said Laboni Hoq, Litigation Director at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles.
Since the first Muslim Ban was released, the Advancing Justice affiliation has:
- Helped hundreds of travelers understand their rights through our Know Your Rights materials and presentations;
- Provided legal support at airports across the country with our partners to ensure compliance with court orders and represented individuals at the airport; and
- Created model policies, starting in San Francisco, to prevent the federal government from attacking Muslim communities in other ways, such as a Muslim registry.
With such threats at hand, Asian Americans Advancing Justice is committed to protecting our communities.
“Even with the Muslim Ban halted, our communities continue to be targets of hate. We are asking people to report hate crimes at standagainsthatred.org,” said Megan Essaheb, Assistant Director of Immigration and Immigrant Rights at Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC.
CONTACTS:
Jessica Jinn, (213) 241-8817, jjinn@advancingjustice-la.org
Michelle Boykins, (202) 296-2300 x144, mboykins@advancingjustice-
Brandon Lee, (773) 271-0899 x200, blee@advancingjustice-chicago.
James Woo, (404) 585-8446, jwoo@advancingjustice-atlanta.
Christina Sinha, (415) 848-7733, christinas@advancingjustice-
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