American Muslims sue Trump over ‘fear-mongering’ travel ban

American Muslim leaders filed suit against President Donald Trump Monday over an immigration order that they said was a “fear-mongering” attempt at keeping members of their religion out of the country.

Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, joined 26 others as plaintiffs in the lawsuit alleging that Trump’s temporary ban on immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries was in fact a “Muslim exclusion order” that violates the US constitution’s religious freedom protections.

“Donald Trump’s executive order is not based on national security, it is based on fear-mongering,” Awad said Monday. “This is not a Muslim ban, it is a Muslim exclusion order.”

Besides excluding Muslim refugees and immigrants from abroad, the suit alleges Trump’s executive order will force out US-resident Muslims from those seven countries “by denying them the ability to renew their lawful status or receive immigration benefits... based solely on their religious beliefs.”

That will lead to “the mass expulsion” of both immigrant and non-immigrant Muslims, the suit, filed in the district court in Alexandria, Virginia, alleged.

Chaos broke out over the weekend as border and customs officials struggled to put Trump’s directive into practise amid legal challenges and loud protests at major US airports.

The president’s critics said his action unfairly singled out Muslims, violated US law and the Constitution, and defiled America’s historic reputation as a welcoming place for immigrants.