(Oklahoma City, OK, 9/24/17) – The Oklahoma Chapter of the Council on American- Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, said today that the latest version of President Trump’s “Muslim ban” executive order signed Sunday evening is just one part of the administration’s “ugly white supremacist agenda.” #NoMuslimBanEver
CAIR said the new 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.
Trump 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.
“These new restrictions clearly indicate that the administration has not wavered from its objective of targeting Muslims,” said CAIR-OK Civil Rights Director Veronica Laizure. CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad issued a statement condemning the new iteration of the travel ban as “part of a white supremacist agenda.”
SEE: Trump Administration Announces New Travel Ban
On Friday, CAIR urged the Trump Administration to refrain from issuing a new Muslim ban, noting that more stealthy attempts to implement that controversial executive order will be just as “unconstitutional and un-American” as the previous attempts. #NoMuslimBanEver
SEE: CAIR Urges Trump Administration Not to Issue New Muslim Ban
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 “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.]
That brief was the latest CAIR legal filing on the Trump administration’s efforts to implement its Muslim ban. In January, just days after Trump signed the first Muslim ban executive order, CAIR filed suit.
SEE: CAIR Files Federal Suit Challenging Constitutionality of Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban’ Executive Order
CAIR has also filed two amicus briefs in the Ninth Circuit.
SEE: CAIR Files Amicus Brief with 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Trump’s ‘Muslim Ban’
CAIR Files Amicus Brief in the Ninth Circuit on Behalf of Four American Muslims Impacted by Muslim Ban 3.0
The Washington-based civil rights organization recently launched an app to share critical ‘know your rights’ information and simplify the process to report hate crimes and bias incidents. CAIR is urging Muslims to download the app and utilize this resource to stay informed and empowered.
For a quick download of CAIR’s civil rights app, click here: http://www.cair.com/app