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6 Dec, 2017

Silence of the Lambs: Global travel industry associations remain mum on U.S. Muslim ban

Bangkok – The U.S. Supreme Court has produced a guilty-until-proven-innocent ruling that effectively allows the Trump Administration to “temporarily” implement a ban on arrivals from most or all nationals from six Muslim-majority countries. The ban effectively bypasses a number of legal and constitutional challenges currently being heard in the lower courts.

According to the American American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), “This decision, which comes on the heels of numerous anti-Muslim tweets from President Trump last week, will serve to stoke anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment across the U.S. This will only contribute to the xenophobic, Islamophobic, and racist atmosphere that has gripped the U.S. since President Trump began running for office in 2015.”

The ADC has called for “sustained protest and opposition” to help overturn the ban.

It said in a statement, “It is imperative to understand that the Supreme Court never acts in a vacuum but often in deference to popular opinion. In 1896, the Supreme Court handed down one of its most infamous rulings: Plessy v. Ferguson upholding racial segregation laws with only one justice dissenting. But by 1954, public attitudes had changed so much that the Court adapted to the times and unanimously struck down “separate but equal” in the landmark case Brown v. Broad of Education.

“If the Muslim Ban is allowed to take full effect without a popular backlash, the Trump Administration will argue that the public is on its side and the Court should not cast itself as an outlier. But if the Muslim Ban is met with sustained protest and opposition, our legal challenge will be that much stronger. The Court’s seven justices who voted against us will see that their position is wholly at odds with American values and their countrymen and women.”

Various civil rights and U.S.-Islamic groups have issued statements criticising the Supreme Court decision. Strangely, not a single global travel or transport association has issued a single word of condemnation or criticism. A quick check of the websites of the UN World Tourism Organisation, US Travel Association, Brand USA, the World Travel & Tourism Council, the Pacific Asia Travel Association, the International Air Transport Association, Airports Council International and the International Civil Aviation Organisation showed that not a single statement had been issued on this move (as of 1700 hrs Bangkok time), in spite of its enormous implications for and impact on travel worldwide.

A lone statement, which could be best described as “meaningless”, was issued by Association of Corporate Travel Executives. Greeley Koch, executive director of ACTE Global, said:

“ACTE Global’s core goal is to help business travellers travel with certainty and to get to their destinations safely. As governments worldwide seek to implement new border and immigration protections along with new security policies, they must keep in mind two key criteria: One, that the policies must be clear, understandable and easy to follow; and two, that these policies take into account the substantial economic benefits of business travel, both on a domestic and international level, and balance the need for safety with the need for cross-border commerce.

“ACTE will continue to monitor how this ban is implemented and gauge the impact to business travelers in an effort to better help all stakeholders—our membership and government leaders alike—understand how we can best protect national security interests without stifling business and economic growth.”

Here are some of the other statements issued by various civil rights and public action groups.

Announcement by Muslim Advocates

On Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 2 pm ET / 11 am PT, Muslim Advocates hosted a community call to help those affected or potentially affected understand the changes to the Muslim ban and ask any questions about what is known so far.

What Just Happened

The Supreme Court just ordered that the third version of the Muslim Ban issued on September 24, 2017 can temporarily go into effect. This is not a ruling on the merits of the case, but it allows the government to implement the ban while several legal challenges remain pending in the U.S. Courts of Appeal for the Fourth and Ninth Circuits. 

By the terms of the ban, most or all nationals from six Muslim-majority countries, along with North Korea and certain government officials and their families from Venezuela, are now banned from coming into the United States.

Who This Impacts

The current version of the ban includes eight countries in total.

  • Syria and North Korea: total ban on all travel to the U.S.
  • Iran: ban on all travel to the U.S., with the exception of nationals with certain exchange or student visas.
  • Libya, Yemen, and Chad: ban on all immigrant and most non-immigrant travel to the U.S.
  • Somalia: ban on all immigrant travel and extreme vetting for nonimmigrant travel.
  • Venezuela: bans on some nonimmigrant visas for certain government officials and their family members.

Who This Does Not Impact

  • The current version of the ban does not apply to:
  • Lawful permanent residents (green card holders);
  • Dual nationals (as long as travel is on a non-banned country passport);
  • Asylees and admitted refugees; and
  • Those already in and admitted to the United States on the effective date of the Ban.

Know Your Rights

Read the fact sheets below for more information:

What Happens Next

The ban will be in effect until appellate courts in the Fourth and Ninth Circuits rule on several currently pending cases challenging the Muslim Ban, including Muslim Advocates’ case, IAAB v. Trump. 

Oral arguments are scheduled for December 6, 2017 before the Ninth Circuit and December 8, 2017 in the Fourth Circuit. We will keep you posted on developments in these cases and what they mean for you. 

The ban includes a provision allowing some nationals of impacted countries who wish to enter the United States to seek a case-by-case waiver. All nationals of impacted countries should speak to an immigration attorney before traveling.

Muslim Ban Update alerts are a service of Muslim Advocates, a national legal advocacy and educational organization dedicated to promoting freedom and justice for all. Alerts inform the public to changes in how the Muslim ban is interpreted by the courts, applied by the government, and how they may impact your rights under the law. The information contained in this alert is provided for educational purposes only and not as part of an attorney-client relationship. It is not a substitute for expert legal, tax, or other professional advice tailored to your specific circumstances.

ADC Concerned by SCOTUS Decision on Travel Ban

Washington, DC | www.adc.org |  December 5, 2017 – The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC) is extremely concerned by the United States Supreme Court’s decision allowing President Donald Trump’s Arab and Muslim Ban 3.0 to go into full effect. The Supreme Court, by a 7-2 ruling, held that the injunction put in place by lower courts against the Ban should be lifted as the lower court cases are fully litigated. The sweeping discriminatory impact this decision is going to have on Arabs and Muslims around the globe is deeply concerning to ADC.

With its ruling, the Supreme Court has validated what numerous lower federal courts have found to be inappropriate and unconstitutional actions by the Trump Administration. This decision, which comes on the heels of numerous anti-Muslim tweets from President Trump last week, will serve to stoke anti-Arab and anti-Muslim sentiment across the U.S. This will only contribute to the xenophobic, Islamaphobic, and racist atmosphere that has gripped the U.S. since President Trump began running for office in 2015.

ADC commits to continuing its fight against the Trump Administration’s Arab and Muslim Bans. ADC will continue to offer pro bono legal assistance for those affected by the Supreme Court’s decision today and will maintain its involvement in the lower court federal cases currently pending. ADC will also continue working tirelessly with its numerous civil rights partners to stand united against the Arab and Muslim Bans. Arabs and Muslims have helped build this country and the ADC will not stand idly by as they are relentlessly attacked by the Trump Administration.

ADC cannot continue its work on behalf of our community without your most generous support. Please consider becoming a sustaining donor today by pledging a monthly donation of $25, $50 or $100. 

For additional commentary: https://medium.com/@shobawadhia/supreme-court-issues-orders-on-ban-3-0-what-this-means-db7c8e83c04c

The Supreme Court Just Approved Trump’s Muslim Ban Without Ruling on its Constitutionality – A Truly Dangerous Move

Washington, DC  www.adc.org  December 5, 2017 – The US Supreme Court permitted yesterday Trump’s latest iteration of the Arab and Muslim Ban – Muslim Ban 3.0 – to go into full effect.

It doesn’t bode well that seven of the nine justices supported the full enforcement of the ban without a hearing. In the past, the Supreme Court often supported the injunctions of lower courts until a final verdict could be issued by the highest court in the land.

The Court’s decision allows the implementation of the ban which may yet prove to be unconstitutional.

Effectively, this means that when the hearing does eventually take place, Trump’s legal team would be able to argue that the Muslim Ban has been in effect for several months and ending it would be disruptive. The Court might be reluctant to overturn established practices. The Court, it must be said, just handed Trump the proverbial Trump Card.

ADC is gravely concerned and is gearing up to challenge this de facto defeat.  As Arab and Muslim-Americans, we have to be vigilant. We have to stand up for the rights enshrined in our US Constitution. And, we have to fight back through all the legal means available to us including in the court of public opinion.

The situation is dire and we need your immediate and urgent support to help us in our efforts to fight on behalf of the rights of our community.

It is imperative to understand that the Supreme Court never acts in a vacuum but often in deference to popular opinion. In 1896, the Supreme Court handed down one of its most infamous rulings: Plessy v. Ferguson upholding racial segregation laws with only one justice dissenting. But by 1954, public attitudes had changed so much that the Court adapted to the times and unanimously struck down “separate but equal” in the landmark case Brown v. Broad of Education.

If the Muslim Ban is allowed to take full effect without a popular backlash, the Trump Administration will argue that the public is on its side and the Court should not cast itself as an outlier. But if the Muslim Ban is met with sustained protest and opposition, our legal challenge will be that much stronger. The Court’s seven justices who voted against us will see that their position is wholly at odds with American values and their countrymen and women.

Let there be no doubt that we are the underdog right now, but that is no reason to despair. We must redouble our efforts and fight in the American spirit of equal justice under the law for all.

ADC will never give up the fight but we cannot do it alone.

We need your urgent help.

When the first Muslim Ban was signed back in January, we kept the lights on 24/7 as our office helped stranded travelers around the world, provided legal counsel to countless individuals and rallied ADC members across the country in demonstrations against the Ban.

Over the next several months, with the ban fully enforced like never before, we can expect even more will be required of us.

If we all take a stand right now and forcefully reject this ban, then the Court will surely hear our voice and we may win in the last hour.

We need you to stand up for your rights and those of Arabs and Muslims in the targeted countries. We know what needs to be done but we lack the sufficient financial resources to execute our work.

Please give and give generously and TODAY!  Your $35, $75, $115, $270, $555, or $1,000 donation will allow ADC to be vigilant and provide us with the resources to fight for all of our rights. Please, don’t delay, donate right now!

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Thank you!