(Sacramento, CA, 1/26/18) – Today, the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) released a report, We Won't Be Banned: Fighting the 2017 Muslim Bans, and its impact on callers who contacted one of the four CAIR-CA offices in the Greater Los Angeles Area (CAIR-LA), the San Francisco Bay Area (CAIR-SFBA), San Diego (CAIR-San Diego), and the Sacramento Valley (CAIR-Sacramento).
An online version of the report can be accessed at the link below. The report provides a concise history of discrimination against Muslim immigrants as well as an overview of the various iterations of the Muslim Ban and related litigation.
"The impact of the Muslim Bans is not limited to family members who are being separated from one another, visa applicants who are facing lengthy delays, or travelers that are being denied entry into the U.S. This administration's anti-Muslim immigration policies reflect a culmination of a longstanding and problematic history of Muslim discrimination and scapegoating." said CAIR-LA Immigrants' Rights Managing Attorney and author of the report, Farida Chehata.
This report analyzes the data collected by CAIR-CA offices from 282 callers in the six months following the announcement of the first executive order. An overwhelming two-thirds of calls came from concerned individuals who expressed apprehension with travelling due to the issuance of the first two executive orders relating to the Muslim Bans. Additionally, twenty-eight percent of travelers experienced problems of some kind when traveling, of which 63% experienced delay.
"The public outcry against all iterations of this administration's Muslim Bans, and the many steps advocates and lawmakers have taken to defend justice assure me that the American people will continue to stand up against any and all discriminatory and xenophobic policies," said CAIR-LA Executive Director, Hussam Ayloush.
READ: We Won't Be Banned: Fighting the 2017 Muslim Bans
In November, CAIR-CA filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in coordination with the Muslim Justice League and the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
READ CAIR-CA 9th Circuit Amicus Brief
These groups also filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in November.
READ CAIR-CA 4th Circuit Amicus Brief
In October, CAIR filed suit on behalf of six individuals challenging the lawfulness of the third iteration of the executive order.
READ: CAIR Files Legal Challenge to Trump Muslim Ban 3.0
In September, CAIR-CA along with other groups filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court.
CAIR Sacramento Valley Civil Rights Attorney, Saad Sweilem, 916.441.6269, ssweilem@cair.com;
CAIR- Greater Los Angeles Area Immigrants' Rights Managing Attorney Farida Chehata, 714.776.1177, fchehata@cair.com;
- CAIR-San Diego Executive Director, Hanif Mohebi, 858.774.9991, hmohebi@cair.com;
- CAIR-San Francisco Bay Area Civil Rights Coordinator Ammad Rafiqi, 408.986.9874, arafiqi@cair.com.
