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(CHICAGO, IL, 3\/7\/25) \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation\u2019s largest Muslim civil rights organization, and the Law Office of Maria Kari today filed a motion for a preliminary injunction that would force the U.S. government to end its discriminatory refusal to evacuate American citizens, lawful permanent residents (LPRs) and their family members from Gaza even as the government evacuates Americans of other ethnicities from different conflict zones.<\/p>\n That injunction, filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, asks the question:\u00a0\u201cDoes our Government view the lives of Palestinian Americans stranded in Gaza as worthy of being saved?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n SEE:\u00a0<\/strong>Motion for Preliminary Injunction<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n CAIR also sent an updated letter, this time to the Trump administration\u2019s State Department leadership, urging them to evacuate these Americans and their loved ones.<\/p>\n SEE:\u00a0<\/strong>CAIR\u00a0Letter Calling on\u00a0US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Evacuate Americans from Gaza<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n In a statement,\u00a0Attorney Maria Kari, Law Office of Maria Kari,<\/strong>\u00a0said:<\/p>\n \u201cFor over 500 days, Palestinian Americans stranded in Gaza have begged their government for help\u2014only to be ignored. While the U.S. has swiftly evacuated citizens from other conflict zones, it has refused to do the same for Palestinian Americans, violating their constitutional right to equal protection. This blatant discrimination has sent a chilling message to the Palestinian American community: some American lives matter more than others.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cToday, my law office alongside CAIR National, has filed a preliminary injunction before the court, seeking immediate judicial intervention to prevent further harm. One plaintiff\u2019s spouse has been killed while waiting to evacuate, several other plaintiffs are gravely injured and in need of medical care that\u2019s simply unavailable in Gaza. Every day of inaction puts our plaintiffs at greater risk\u2014this crisis cannot wait. We must bring these Americans home.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThis is about the safety of American citizens, the number one duty of the American government. This is about government inaction. This is about government inaction based on who and where. We have a three layered problem<\/em>,\u201d said Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director CAIR-Chicago.<\/strong><\/p>\n In a statement,\u00a0Nicole Fauster-Bradford, Esq., CAIR\u2019s Community Advocacy Director<\/strong>, said:<\/p>\n \u201cThese American citizens, LPRs, and their families remain in dire conditions despite the ceasefire and need immediate medical assistance. When I sent our initial letter to the State Department in December 2024, we did not get a response or even acknowledgment of our request. This departs drastically from the State Department\u2019s responses to our other advocacy requests for assistance, where the Department\u2019s officials have been responsive, thorough, and swift, albeit for matters in other countries.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n SEE:\u00a0<\/strong>CAIR, Law Office of Maria Kari Lawsuit Against President Biden and Anthony Blinken<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n BACKGROUNDER:<\/strong><\/p>\n In some cases, as early as December 2023, the State Department approved the travel of these American citizens, LPRs, and their loved ones to the United States from Gaza. However, the State Department has not rendered the necessary evacuation assistance needed to secure their travel to the United States.<\/p>\n Yet, the Biden administration admitted Israel to its visa waiver program on October 19, 2023, so that non-American Israelis could more easily reunite with their families in the United States. Just the week before that, the State Department deployed cruise ships for Americans intending to depart Israel.<\/p>\n The Biden administration has not made comparable efforts to evacuate similarly situated Americans and their loved ones trapped in Gaza. Attorneys now call upon the Trump administration to coordinate the evacuation of the plaintiffs who remain in Gaza.<\/p>\n END<\/strong><\/p>\n CONTACT:<\/strong>\u00a0Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago, 202-870-0166,\u00a0arehab@cair.com<\/a>; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530,\u00a0e-Mitchell@cair.com<\/a>; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726,\u00a0ihooper@cair.com<\/a>; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280,\u00a0iallison@cair.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n