"President Trump's executive order to ban Muslims, immigrants and refugees from entry into the United States, including people who have a legal right to be here, is illegal, unconstitutional and fundamentally wrong," said Carol Rose, executive director of the ACLU of Massachusetts.
"The ACLU is prepared to go to court to stop the Trump Administration's attack on fundamental rights and liberties," said Rose. "To those targeted by these orders, we are with you."
The ACLU of Massachusetts encourages anyone being detained at Logan Airport under President Trump's Muslim ban, as well as the families and friends of these victims, to contact us at 617-482-3170. We would also welcome calls from lawful permanent residents who are having to cancel travel plans due to concern that they will not be allowed to reenter the U.S.
Hours after President Trump issued his executive order, the national ACLU filed a writ of habeas corpus seeking the release of two men detained at JFK Airport in New York despite having the proper paperwork to enter the country.
Hameed Khalid Darweesh, a 53-year-old electrical engineer from Iraq, served as an interpreter for the U.S. Army 101st Airborne in Baghdad and Mosul, Iraq and in a variety of other positions between 2003 and 2013, and has been issued a Special Immigration Visa. Haider Sameer Abdulkhaleq Alshawi, also an Iraqi, worked as an accountant for a U.S. contractor, and has a visa to join his wife and seven-year-old old in the U.S.
"These men had permission to enter the country and to be with their families, based on their service to our country," said Rose. "They put their lives and the lives of their families on the line to serve the United States. This executive order violates the rule of law and the values of our republic."
