Today, a group of organizations serving the Muslim community filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the case of Hawaii v. Trump, arguing that the third iteration of the Trump Administration’s Muslim Ban is unconstitutional and discriminatory, has stoked fears in the Muslim community, and contributes to a climate of distrust towards American Muslims.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations – California (CAIR-CA) is joined in the brief by the Muslim Justice League and the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
The brief, which was prepared by the law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, argues the Muslim Ban presidential proclamation at issue in the case violates the Establishment Clause by targeting individuals from six Muslim-majority countries and creates a policy that unconstitutionally discriminates based on religion, despite also imposing restrictions on certain individuals from two non-Muslim-majority countries.
The amicus brief specifically notes:
- This ban violates the Constitution’s Establishment Clause by disfavoring a particular religion and targeting individuals based on their religious beliefs.
- This ban has irreparably harmed the Muslim-American community by ripping families apart, bolstering harmful and offensive stereotypes about Muslims, and sewing a deep and unjustified distrust of the Muslim community in the United States.
- The addition of two non-Muslim-majority countries to this ban does nothing to disguise the ban’s anti-Muslim animus, which has existed since the original Muslim Ban’s inception.
- This ban does nothing to make the United States safer and there is no immediate security need that justifies this ban – rather, the only common thread between those affected is their faith.
Last week, CAIR-CA filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in the case of IRAP v. Trump.
CAIR-CA is also part of the #NoMuslimBanEver campaign, a grassroots awareness and mobilization effort focused on the resistance against the Muslim Ban.
“We will continue advocating for the dignity and fair treatment of the Muslim community throughout the United States,” said Jeffrey Wang, a legal fellow at CAIR-CA’s San Francisco Bay Area office. “This discriminatory and unconstitutional travel ban, engendered by the President’s clear religious animus, has caused irreparable and unnecessary harm to Muslim communities across the country. We cannot let this sort of Executive overreach and government misconduct stand,” he added.