Press Release

For Immediate Release                                   
June 26, 2017

Contact
Geoffrey Knox at 917-414-1749 or [email protected]

Limited Supreme Court Order Keeps Muslim Ban Blocked for Many

Washington, D.C. — The U.S. Supreme Court today granted, in part, the Trump administration’s request to allow some provisions of its Muslim ban to go into effect in 72 hours. The Court will allow the ban to be applied only to individuals with no connection to any person or entity in the U.S. In an unsigned order issued on the Court’s last day before its summer recess, the justices scheduled oral arguments in the case for when they return in October.

Lifting any part of the nationwide injunction on the ban contradicts multiple major court rulings from across the country, which have consistently blocked it, finding it both unconstitutional and in violation of antidiscrimination provisions in federal law. Both the Ninth and Fourth Circuit Courts of Appeal recently ordered that the great majority of the ban remain blocked.

The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Maryland, and National Immigration Law Center brought the challenge on behalf of HIAS, the International Refugee Assistance Project, the Middle East Studies Association, and individuals affected by the ban.

Beth Baron, President of the Middle East Studies Association, had this reaction to the Supreme Court order:

“MESA stands alongside fellow plaintiffs in our fight against Muslim Ban 2.0.  The Fourth Circuit’s ruling upholds the fundamental principle that protects all of us from government condemnation of our religious beliefs. We will keep fighting for the rights of MESA members as well as Muslim Americans and immigrants across the country, and for the Constitution that protects us all.”

The Supreme Court’s order can be found here.
More information on the case can be found here.

MESA
The Middle East Studies Association (MESA) is a private, non-profit learned society that fosters the study of the Middle East, promotes high standards of scholarship and teaching, and encourages public understanding of the region and its peoples through programs, publications and services that enhance education, further intellectual exchange, recognize professional distinction, and defend academic freedom.