But viewing such hardship as secondary compared to the unjust treatment of their clients, it has been pro bono attorneys and staff attorneys from nonprofits and clinics who have been standing up for Muslim Americans in courts for decades. The legal profession’s readiness to step in and protect human rights was never more evident than its self-organized response to the Muslim travel ban of 2017.
Newly inaugurated President Donald Trump tried to deliver on one of history’s most notorious campaign promises—to ban all Muslims from entering or returning to the United States. Despite warnings of the ban’s constitutional and moral flaws, Trump issued his first ban on January 27, 2017, as an executive order. He demanded immediate enforcement, targeting nationals from Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen, many of whom were in midair when their status changed.
Chaos ensued.
Hundreds of travelers were detained, and over 60,000 visas were revoked. The result was the separation of families, stranded travelers, deportations, and disruption of work. In response, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Amnesty International, One Justice, CAIR, the National Lawyers Guild, and others quickly mobilized hundreds of pro bono attorneys to international airports—beginning with Los Angeles and New York—to assess the impact on travelers and offer legal assistance with petitions.
While those attorneys spent sleepless nights at airports, attorneys back at the offices of the ACLU and other firms burned the midnight oil to prepare lawsuits to stop the ban. In support, organizations such as the American Bar Association filed amicus briefs against the ban. The ACLU quickly obtained a nationwide injunction curbing it.
President Joe Biden has long rescinded the Muslim Ban, but the intense advocacy efforts of 2017 strengthened the network of attorneys who continue to fight for the rights of Muslim Americans.
Which brings us back to the case of Yonas Fikre. His attorneys’ work forced the FBI to remove his name from the No Fly List, but he and his attorneys refused to dismiss the case. After a court dismissed their case based on mootness, they persevered with appeals and reached the U.S. Supreme Court. On March 19, 2024, they got their ruling, a 9–0 victory. The Court agreed that Fikre’s case was not moot. “The government might re-list him,” states the opinion by Justice Neil Gorsuch, “if he does the same or similar things in the future—say, attend a particular mosque or refuse renewed overtures to serve as an informant.”
As with many cases involving Muslim Americans, Fikre’s victory underscores the importance of civil liberties, due process, and the need for transparency. The Human Rights Hero for this issue of Human Rights goes to all the attorneys and firms working on these issues to defend the rights of Muslims in the United States.