[The following email and press release was distributed on 5 December 2017 by the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) as an update on the pending legal battle against the Trump Administration's Travel Ban.]
Email from MESA President on Supreme Court Decision
Dear MESA Members:
As you may have heard, the Supreme Court issued an order on December 4, 2017 permitting the Trump Muslim ban to go into effect while our lawsuit against it continues. (See ACLU press statement below.)
This development is obviously disappointing but the case is not over. MESA is represented by the ACLU and they will move ahead with presenting arguments before the Fourth Circuit in Virginia on Friday, December 8. (The court will post a link on its website for real-time audio streaming of the arguments.)
If we win at the Fourth Circuit, the case will almost certainly go back to the Supreme Court, where we will argue the ban should be blocked again. In the meantime, unfortunately, the ban will remain in effect.
Judith E. Tucker
MESA President
ACLU Comment on Supreme Court Action on Trump Muslim Ban
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 4, 2017
CONTACT: Inga Sarda-Sorensen, 347-514-3984, isarda-sorensen@aclu.org
WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court granted the Trump administration’s request to temporarily allow the latest Muslim ban to take full effect as the case is litigated. Two federal appeals courts will soon hear separate challenges to the ban. The Ninth Circuit will hear Hawaii’s case on Dec. 6, and the Fourth Circuit will hear the challenge brought by the American Civil Liberties Union and partner organizations on Dec. 8.
Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project, had this reaction:
“President Trump’s anti-Muslim prejudice is no secret — he has repeatedly confirmed it, including just last week on Twitter. It's unfortunate that the full ban can move forward for now, but this order does not address the merits of our claims. We continue to stand for freedom, equality, and for those who are unfairly being separated from their loved ones. We will be arguing Friday in the Fourth Circuit that the ban should ultimately be struck down.”
International Refugee Assistance Project v. Trump is brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Maryland, National Immigration Law Center, and International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) at the Urban Justice Center on behalf of HIAS, IRAP, the Middle East Studies Association, the Yemeni American Merchants Association, the Arab American Association of New York, and numerous individual plaintiffs.
The order is at: https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/international-refugee-assistance-project-v-trump-order-0
This statement is at: https://www.aclu.org/news/aclu-comment-supreme-court-action-trump-muslim-ban
More information is at: https://www.aclu.org/cases/international-refugee-assistance-project-v-trump