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 Instead, nearly a year after President Biden rescinded that ban, they learned that their application was denied “as a matter of discretion.” This new lawsuit challenges that denial and the policies underlying it as discriminatory and unlawful.
Perkins Coie LLP is co-counsel in this litigation.
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View the April 7, 2022 Complaint
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Washington Post: Lawyers say the Biden administration is still rejecting some refugees once banned by Trump
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“President Biden Removed the Muslim Ban but He Didn’t Fix the Harm”: IRAP Files Lawsuit on Behalf of Separated Somali Refugee Family
4/7/2022
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