Darweesh et al. v. Trump et al
On January 27, 2017, one week after taking office, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.” Citing the threat of terrorism committed by foreign nationals, the EO “suspend[ed] entry” into the United States for nationals from seven countries — Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. The EO made limited exceptions for members of a “minority religion” from these seven countries. The EO was immediately identified as President Trump’s promised “Muslim Ban.”
Early the next morning, on January 28, 2017, the Yale Law School Worker and Immigrant Rights Advocacy Clinic, together with the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Immigration Law Center, the International Refugee Assistance Project, and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP, filed suit on behalf of Hameed Khalid Darweesh, an Iraqi husband and father of three, and Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, an Iraqi husband and father. Both Mr. Darweesh and Mr. Alshawi were detained after arriving at JFK Airport in New York City on January 27, 2017, shortly after the EO was signed. Both had been approved for travel and entry to the United States, and they were flying with valid documentation. The Petitioners alleged that the application of the Executive Order to them violated their Fifth Amendment procedural and substantive due process rights and was illegal according to the immigration statutes and the Administrative Procedure Act. The Petitioners sought habeas relief and declaratory and injunctive relief on behalf of themselves and a nationwide class of similarly situated individuals.
Later that day, the Petitioners requested that the Court grant a class-wide emergency stay of removal during the pendency of the petition.
That evening, a federal judge in Brooklyn issued a nationwide temporary stay enjoining the government from deporting people pursuant to the Trump Administration's January 27th Executive Order. District Court Judge Ann Donnelly ordered the government not to remove, among others, any “individuals from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen legally authorized to enter the United States.” It was the first legal victory against President Trump’s Muslim Ban anywhere in the country.
Information about our template habeas petitions and other documents can be found on our Legal Templates page.
The documents in this suit are linked below.
Plaintiffs' Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, No. 1:17-cv-00480-AMD (E.D.N.Y.) (January 28, 2017)
Petitioner's Motion for Class Certification or Representative Class Action, No. 1:17-cv-00480-AMD (E.D.N.Y.) (January 28, 2017)
Petitioners' Emergency Motion for Stay of Removal, No. 1:17-cv-00480-AMD (E.D.N.Y.) (January 28, 2017)
Petitioners' Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion for Emergency Stay of Removal, No. 1:17-cv-00480-AMD (E.D.N.Y.) (January 28, 2017)
Decision and Order, No. 1:17-cv-00480-AMD (E.D.N.Y.) (January 28, 2017)
Transcript from January 28, 2017 Hearing on Emergency Motion for Stay, No. 1:17-cv-00480-AMD (E.D.N.Y.) (January 28, 2017)
Emergency Motion for Clarification and Enforcement of Order, No. 1:17-cv-00480-AMD (E.D.N.Y.) (January 29, 2017)
Notice Regarding Petitioners' Emergency Motion for Clarification and Enforcement of Order, No. 1:17-cv-00480-AMD (E.D.N.Y.) (January 29, 2017)
Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Enforce the Court’s January 28, 2017 Order, No. 1:17-cv-00480-CBA (E.D.N.Y.) (February 7, 2017)
Order Scheduling Briefing and Hearing on Petitioners’ February 7, 2017 Motion to Enforce, No. 1:17-cv-00480-CBA (E.D.N.Y.) (February 8, 2017)
Order Requiring Government to Produce List of Detained Individuals, No. 1:17-cv-00480-CBA (E.D.N.Y.) (February 21, 2017)
Press Releases
Press Release (January, 29, 2017)
Press Release (February 2, 2017)
Media Advisory (February 2, 2017)
Press Release (February 7, 2017)
Press Release (February 9, 2017)
Press Release (February 21, 2017)