Dear Friend,

Yesterday, I was at the U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, listening to our co-counsel argue for our clients in IAAB v. Trump before the Fourth Circuit on the first major legal challenges brought against the current Muslim Ban. Being in that courtroom brought me back to when I first joined Muslim Advocates, over two years ago, when I first sat in that same courtroom for that same case. I was struck by, how, in the face of many challenges, we were still here, fighting in the courts for separated families and for the American Muslim community.

As I looked around the packed courtroom, I saw just how much of the community continued to be in this fight with us.

Muslim Advocates serves as co-counsel with Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Covington & Burling LLP on IAAB v. Trump, which was among the three cases that the Fourth Circuit heard on appeal yesterday. In 2017, we filed IAAB v. Trump on behalf of Iranian Alliances Across Borders (“IAAB”) and represented six individual plaintiffs, all of whom are United States citizens or lawful permanent residents with Iranian relatives or spouses who have been blocked from coming to the United States. This is one of the many ways that Muslim Advocates is fighting for the rights of American Muslims and all families.

In fact, that’s why I became a lawyer in the first place. Growing up in a Muslim family post-9/11, I saw how our community was impacted by rising discrimination. Now, I work to reunite families separated by the Muslim Ban and defend Americans who have experienced discrimination. It can be challenging, but it’s worth it to advocate for the American Muslim community and work with the brave plaintiffs who are the heart of my cases.

I’m proud of the historic leaps that the American Muslim community has made for our rights to be recognized and taken seriously.

We will keep you posted about developments in this case and about all of our work to end the Muslim ban. We won’t stop fighting until all American Muslims are allowed to just be American — and live their lives free from hatred and discrimination.

Thank you for joining me in that fight,

Nimra Azmi
Staff Attorney
Muslim Advocates