International Refugee Assistance Project et al v. Trump et al

Filing 5

MOTION for Other Relief for Leave to Proceed Under Pseudonyms by Jane Doe 1, John Doe1-4 (Attachments: # 1 Declarations of John Does 1-4 & Jane Doe 1, # 2 Declaration of Nicholas Espiritu & Exhibits A through V, # 3 Proposed Order)(Cox, Justin)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
SOUTHERN DIVISION

INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE
ASSISTANCE PROJECT, a project of the
Urban Justice Center, Inc., on behalf of itself
and its clients; HIAS, Inc., on behalf of itself
and its clients; ALLAN HAKKY;
SAMANEH TAKALOO; JOHN DOES # 14; and JANE DOE #1,

Declaration of John Doe #1

Plaintiffs,
v.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United
States; DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF STATE;
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE;
JOHN KELLY, Secretary of Homeland
Security; REX TILLERSON, Secretary of
State; and MICHAEL DEMPSEY, Acting
Director National Intelligence.
Defendants.
DECLARATION OF JOHN DOE #1
I,

, upon my personal knowledge, hereby submit this

declaration pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746 and declare as follows:
1.

I am a Lawful Permanent Resident of Iranian origin, and I live in

Montgomery County, Maryland.
2.

I came to the United States in 2014 on a J1 visa. I am a scientist who

studies atmospheric and natural hazards. In 2016, I obtained my lawful permanent resident
(LPR) status through the National Interest Waiver program for people whose work concerns an
1

area of substantial intrinsic merit, is national in scope, and benefits the interests of the United
States.
3.

In August 2016, while my application to become a lawful permanent

resident was pending, I married an Iranian national. My wife and I have applied for a spousal
immigration visa for her to join me, submitted to the National Visa Center on January 9, 2017.
The application was approved, the processing fees paid, and we were waiting for the embassy
interview to be scheduled at the time the Executive Order went into effect.
4.

Because of the Executive Order, we are worried that her interview will not

be scheduled and she will not get her visa and be permitted to join me in the United States.
5.

Even as a LPR, I am fearful of leaving the United States because I fear the

Executive Order may prevent my ability to return to my home in Silver Spring, Maryland. I
would like to visit my wife in Iran, but I will not make any travel plans because I do not want to
risk not being able to return to the United States. Sometimes my work requires me to travel
internationally for example to attend conferences, but I feel I cannot do that at this time because I
may not be permitted to re-enter the United States.
6.

My wife and I are non-practising Muslims but under Iranian law, a child

born to a Muslim father is automatically considered to be Muslim. Conversion from Islam is
deemed apostasy and is punishable by death.
7.

I am very worried that our participation in this lawsuit against federal

government officials could jeopardize my wife’s visa application and my own plans to naturalize
and become a U.S. citizen. We are hopeful that the National Visa Center (NVC) will resume
processing applications from Iranian nationals and do not want our participation in this lawsuit to
adversely impact her application.

2

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
SOUTHERN DIVISION

INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE
ASSISTANCE PROJECT, a project of the
Urban Justice Center, Inc., on behalf of itself
and its clients; HIAS, Inc., on behalf of itself
and its clients; ALLAN HAKKY;
SAMANEH TAKALOO; JOHN DOES # 14; and JANE DOE #1,

Declaration of John Doe #2

Plaintiffs,
v.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United
States; DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF STATE;
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE;
JOHN KELLY, Secretary of Homeland
Security; REX TILLERSON, Secretary of
State; and MICHAEL DEMPSEY, Acting
Director National Intelligence.
Defendants.

DECLARATION OF JOHN DOE #2
I,

, upon my personal knowledge, hereby submit this

declaration pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746 and declare as follows:
1.

I am a U.S. citizen of Iraqi origin, and I live in Baltimore County,

Maryland.

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2.

I came to the United States in 2009 as a refugee along with my wife and

two daughers. All of us are now U.S. citizens, as is my third daughter, who was born in the
United States.
3.

I am a Shiite Muslim, as is my father. My mother is a Sunni Muslim.

4.

In 2006, my uncle and cousin were killed in Iraq, after which I also

received threats.
5.

Three days after my uncle and cousin were killed, I fled to Syria, where I

lived for three years. My wife and two daughters joined me in Syria a month later. Because I
continued to feel threatened in Syria, I applied for refugee status through the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees in 2007. My refugee application was approved in 2009, and I
arrived in the United States in August 2009.
6.

In March 2015, I filed for a family-based I-130 immigration visa for my

parents, who were still in Iraq, so they could join me and my family in the United States. My
parents had an immigration interview at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in September 2016 and
their visas were subsequently approved. As of December 2016, their cases were still pending
administrative processing.
7.

I expected that my parents would be able to join me in the United States

early this year, and so they sold their furniture and prepared for their move. However, when I
learned about the Executive Order from the news, I realized that this travel ban would prevent
my parents from joining me in the United States.
8.

I am very worried about my parents’ safety. They are in

which is

a dangerous part of Iraq. In the past, they have received letters threatening to harm them because
they are my parents. My father and mother are currently moving between the houses of various

2

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
SOUTHERN DIVISION

INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE
ASSISTANCE PROJECT, a project of the
Urban Justice Center, Inc., on behalf of itself
and its clients; HIAS, Inc., on behalf of itself
and its clients; ALLAN HAKKY;
SAMANEH TAKALOO; JOHN DOES # 14; and JANE DOE #1,

Declaration of John Doe #3

Plaintiffs,
v.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United
States; DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF STATE;
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE;
JOHN KELLY, Secretary of Homeland
Security; REX TILLERSON, Secretary of
State; and MICHAEL DEMPSEY, Acting
Director National Intelligence.
Defendants.
DECLARATION OF JOHN DOE #3
I,

, upon my personal knowledge, hereby submit this

declaration pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746 and declare as follows:
1.

I am a Lawful Permanent Resident of Iranian origin, and I live in Anne

Arundel County, Maryland.
2.

I came to the United States in 2011 through the greencard lottery. My

wife, who is also an Iranian national, lives in Iran.

1

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
SOUTHERN DIVISION

INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE
ASSISTANCE PROJECT, a project of the
Urban Justice Center, Inc., on behalf of itself
and its clients; HIAS, Inc., on behalf of itself
and its clients; ALLAN HAKKY;
SAMANEH TAKALOO; JOHN DOES # 14; and JANE DOE #1,

Declaration of John Doe #4

Plaintiffs,
v.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United
States; DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF STATE;
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE;
JOHN KELLY, Secretary of Homeland
Security; REX TILLERSON, Secretary of
State; and MICHAEL DEMPSEY, Acting
Director National Intelligence.
Defendants.
DECLARATION OF JOHN DOE #4
I,

, upon my personal knowledge, hereby submit this

declaration pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746 and declare as follows:
1.

I am a U.S. citizen of Iraqi origin, and I live in Alabama.

2.

I immigrated to the United States at the age of 3, and grew up in

Pennsylvania. My wife,

came to the United States as a refugee,

and is now a U.S. citizen. She is expecting our first child and is scheduled for a C-section on
February

2017. Her parents, who currently live in Iraq and have valid immigration visas,
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND
SOUTHERN DIVISION

INTERNATIONAL REFUGEE
ASSISTANCE PROJECT, a project of the
Urban Justice Center, Inc., on behalf of itself
and its clients; HIAS, Inc., on behalf of itself
and its clients; ALLAN HAKKY;
SAMANEH TAKALOO; JOHN DOES # 14; and JANE DOE #1,

Declaration of Jane Doe #1

Plaintiffs,
v.
DONALD TRUMP, President of the United
States; DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND
SECURITY; DEPARTMENT OF STATE;
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF
NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE;
JOHN KELLY, Secretary of Homeland
Security; REX TILLERSON, Secretary of
State; and MICHAEL DEMPSEY, Acting
Director National Intelligence.
Defendants.
DECLARATION OF JANE DOE #1
I,

, upon my personal knowledge, hereby submit this

declaration pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746 and declare as follows:
1.

I am a U.S. citizen of Iraqi origin, and I live in Alabama.

2.

I came to the United States in 2009 as a refugee. I fled from Iraq to Jordan

in 2005. Life was very dangerous for me and my family in Iraq, which is why I made the
difficult decision to flee: several bombs had exploded in my neighborhood, including one near
my elementary school that blew out the glass of my classroom windows, and my brother and
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