The Supreme Court ruling that upheld the Trump administration’s travel ban is distressing at many levels—for approximately 130 million people from Iran, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia, Venezuela, and North Korea, it means traveling to the U.S. on immigrant and non-immigrant visas is no longer possible. For legal permanent residents (green card holders) hailing from these countries, it means their future in the U.S. is no longer certain. For the 3.4 million American Muslims, it means that as they continue to be the targets of this administration’s bigoted policies, they can no longer expect the Supreme Court to afford them protections.

While the Trump administration insists people from the above-mentioned countries can apply for waivers when attempting to visit close relatives in the United States or for medical reasons, in reality it has accepted very few applications over the past six months—last week, two immigration rights groups filed a lawsuit in an attempt to pressure the Trump administration to explain their ‘comprehensive’ waiver process.

In the midst of all this uncertainty and despondency, the continued solidarity of civil society groups across the U.S. has been unrelenting and inspiring. Emblematic of this support is the letter sent to Muslim communities from rabbis across western MA in response to the SCOTUS ruling--these incredible allies truly make America great.

At a time when this administration is pursuing draconian and inhumane immigration policies, undermining the rights of women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community, we at Critical Connections remain committed to convening events that we hope will inform the activism and engagement of communities across western MA and beyond.

We thank you for your support and hope you will join us this fall for continued dialogue and analysis.

Warm regards,
Mehlaqa Samdani