(ATLANTA, GA, 9/24/17) — The Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations today condemned President Trump’s latest travel ban, and encouraged any Georgia Muslims with family members impacted by the ban to contact CAIR Georgia for assistance.“The President’s latest travel ban has little to do with national security and everything to do with anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim bigotry. President Trump, Stephen Miller, and others within the Administration pine for an America that is racially, religiously and culturally monolithic,” said attorney Edward Ahmed Mitchell, executive director of CAIR Georgia.
Mitchell added, “That’s why President Trump wants to curtail legal immigration, increase deportations, and ban as many Muslims as he can get away with banning, including–once again–foreign relatives of many American Muslims. The travel ban was irrational the first two times President Trump tried to implement it, and it remains so today.”
CAIR Georgia also announced that it plans to co-host The People vs. The Muslim Ban at Georgia State University College of Law on Oct. 9th, the day before the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in the original travel ban case.
During the public mock trial, law students and practicing lawyers plan to argue for and against the travel ban, while real people impacted by the travel ban–including Georgia Muslims, immigrants and refugees–testify as witnesses.
WHERE: Georgia State University College of Law Mock Courtroom
WHEN: Oct. 9th, 2017, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
The event is co-hosted by Asian Americans Advancing Justice (Atlanta), Project South, and the Georgia State University Muslim Law Students Association.
The President’s latest immigration order places restrictions on travel to the United States from eight countries and comes as the previous ban on visitors from six Muslim-majority countries was set expire today.
The Trump Administration kept restrictions on five of the six Muslim-majority nations – Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen – and added new restrictions on visitors from Chad, North Korea and Venezuela.
“We strongly suspect that the Trump Administration banned North Koreans and Venezuelan government officials in a token and transparent attempt to escape allegations of anti-Muslim bigotry,” Mitchell said.
Last week, CAIR announced the filing of an amicus (“friend of the court”) brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of seven American Muslims opposing the Trump administration’s original Muslim ban and urging the court to declare it unconstitutional.
READ CAIR’s Amicus Brief
In its brief, CAIR argued that the seven American Muslim citizens, including CAIR Georgia outreach director Asma Elhuni, “have seen increased discrimination, hate speech, and threats of violence as a result of the anti-Muslim animus that underpins” the Muslim ban. [NOTE: Those listed in the amicus brief (“amici”) are represented by CAIR and the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.]
CAIR is America’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, encourage dialogue, protect civil liberties, empower American Muslims, and build coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding.
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CONTACT: CAIR Georgia Executive Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell; 404-285-9530; [email protected]