Washington, D.C. (March 30, 2018) – Pars Equality Center, The Iranian American Bar Association, and the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans have filed an amicus (‘friend of the courtâ€) brief with the United States Supreme Court in support of the challenge to the Trump administration’s third travel ban.
Using statistical and anecdotal evidence, the brief shows that the waiver system constructed by the third travel ban is a separate and inherently unequal alternative to the visa process. The extremely high visa rejection rate under the third travel ban has inflicted hardship on countless individuals, including many U.S. citizens and other individuals with bona fide relationships to the United States.
Between the time that the Supreme Court ordered that the third travel ban could go into effect on December 4, 2017, and February 15, 2018, only two waivers had been approved. The government’s implementation of the waiver system confirms that the third travel ban is motivated by a discriminatory purpose.
The following is a handful of many more stories included in the brief:
- Jane Doe #1, a dual citizen of the United States and Iran, petitioned for an immigrant visa on behalf of her fiancé, an Iranian citizen, in 2016. Not long thereafter, Jane Doe #1’s fiancé suffered serious injuries in an automobile accident and lost his right leg at the knee. Since his injury, Jane Doe #1’s fiancé has been unemployed and forced to live with his mother because Iran lacks any systematic accommodations for disabled persons. As a result of the third travel ban, the couple has been separated and forced to postpone their marriage indefinitely.
- John Doe #1 is a U.S. citizen and assistant professor at a U.S. public university. His wife, also an assistant professor at a U.S. public university, is an Iranian citizen and a lawful permanent resident of the United States. John Doe #10 hoped his parents-in-law could come to the United States for the birth of his daughter (their only grandchild) and to help care for his wife and newborn child. Their visas were denied and their request for a waiver was dismissed.
- Hamed Rostamkhani and his wife are lawful permanent residents of the United States and citizens of Iran. Mr. Rostamkhani’s work focuses on assessing natural hazards and their effects on coastal communities and infrastructure in the United States. Mr. Rostamkhani’s parents applied for a visa to so that they could visit him and their grandchildren. Their visas were denied and they were not granted a waiver, even though Mr. Rostamkhani and his parents were never advised of the opportunity to provide information regarding whether they were eligible for a waiver.
The Iranian-American organizations remain committed to protecting the civil liberties of Iranian Americans and are hopeful that the Supreme Court will ultimately block this unjust and discriminatory policy.
The three organizations along with over 25 individual plaintiffs are challenging President Trump’s latest iteration of the travel and refugee bans in federal court in Washington, DC.
The amicus brief, along with other information about the Washington, DC lawsuit, can be found at www.endthetravelban.com