Mohamud v. DHS: Challenging the continuing impact of the Muslim refugee ban and arbitrary denial of a Somali family’s previously approved refugee application

On April 7, 2022, IRAP filed a lawsuit in partnership with a Somali family who were on the verge of being reunited the day the former Trump Administration issued its Muslim refugee ban.  Plaintiff Anisa Mohamud’s mother and brother were en route to the United States when they were barred from boarding their connecting flight because they were Somali. For four years after they were turned back, they were kept in the dark about their applications, despite being covered by the February 2020 settlement in JFS v. Trump, IRAP’s previous lawsuit challenging the refugee ban, which required the government to prioritize the processing of the family’s case.  Instead, nearly a year after President Biden rescinded that ban, they learned that their application was denied “as a matter of discretion.”  The lawsuit challenged that denial and the policies underlying it as discriminatory and unlawful. In September 2022, the Mohamuds finally were able to reunite in the United States after the government reversed its denial of the family’s refugee application. 

Perkins Coie LLP is co-counsel in this litigation.