January 29, 2017

Federal District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs and Magistrate Judge Judith G. Dein issued a temporary restraining order this morning on behalf of two lawful permanent residents detained at Logan Airport.

Mazdak Pourabdollah Tootkaboni and Arghavan Louhghalam—both Muslim, Iranian nationals teaching at the University of Massachusetts—were unlawfully detained upon reentering the United States. The seven-day order comes on the heels of a New York Federal District Court Judge's stay of removal on behalf of two Iraqi nationals and others "similarly situated."

"This is a huge victory for justice," said Matthew Segal, legal director of the ACLU of Massachusetts. "We told President Trump we would see him in court if he ordered this unconstitutional ban on Muslims. He tried, and federal courts in Boston and throughout the nation stopped it in its tracks."

The petitioners were represented by the ACLU of Massachusetts' legal director Matthew Segal, along with Kerry E. Doyle, Esq. of Graves & Doyle, and Susan Church and Heather Yountz of Demissie & Church.

View the District of Massachusetts order
Learn more about the case and access legal documents
View the Eastern District of New York stay order