• Press Releases

Middle East Scholars Vote to Endorse BDS

The membership of MESA has voted in favor of a resolution endorsing the Palestinian call for boycotts, divestment, and sanctions of Israel as a way to hold the government accountable for ongoing human rights violations. MESA’s Board of Directors will implement it in a manner consistent with MESA’s bylaws as well as relevant U.S. federal, state, and local laws. The resolution states that the boycott will not target individual students or scholars, and reiterates the right of individual MESA members to choose whether or not they wish to participate in an academic boycott of Israeli institutions.

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Federal Court Blocks Trump Muslim Ban, Again

A federal court in Maryland blocked President Trump’s latest Muslim ban from going into effect today. This follows a federal court in Hawaii issuing a similar ruling on Tuesday in another challenge. The Middle East Studies Association, represented by the ACLU, had been in court Monday in Maryland with its fellow plaintiffs to challenge this latest version of the ban — the president’s third such attempt.

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Joint Press Release: Response to Supreme Court canceling oral arguments in Muslim ban case

Today, the Supreme Court removed Trump v. International Refugee Assistance Project from the oral argument calendar. The parties are now required to submit briefs by October 5 to determine the impact of last night’s proclamation amending the previous executive order.
In response to these developments, plaintiffs and counsel in Trump v. IRAP issued the following statements:

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Limited Supreme Court Order Keeps Muslim Ban Blocked for Many

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.

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Maryland Court Blocks Trump’s New Muslim Ban

A federal court in Maryland issued an injunction blocking President Trump’s new Muslim ban executive order early this morning, just hours after a Hawaii court issued a nationwide injunction in a separate challenge. The Middle East Studies Association (MESA), along with refugee groups, had joined a lawsuit, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Immigration Law Center, in federal district court seeking the injunction.

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