State of Washington, et al., v. Trump., et al

Filing 194

MOTION for Leave to File Third Amended Complaint, filed by Plaintiffs Commonwealth of Massachusetts, State of California, State of Maryland, State of New York, State of Washington, Intervenor Plaintiff State of Oregon. (Attachments: # 1 Complaint 3rd Amended, # 2 Index of Exhibits, # 3 Index of Declarations, # 4 Exhibit A, # 5 Exhibit B, # 6 Exhibit C, # 7 Exhibit D, # 8 Exhibit E, # 9 Exhibit F, # 10 Exhibit G, # 11 Exhibit H, # 12 Exhibit I, # 13 Exhibit J, # 14 Exhibit K, # 15 Exhibit L, # 16 Exhibit M, # 17 Exhibit N, # 18 Decl of Joint Former National Security Officials, # 19 Decl of Nima Ala, # 20 2nd Decl of Rabyaah Althaibani, # 21 Decl of Alireza Ayoubi, # 22 Decl of Shervin Beygi, # 23 Decl of Bahareh Bina, # 24 Decl of Ethan Devenport, # 25 Decl of Yasaman Esmaili, # 26 Decl of Mahdi Hajiaghayi, # 27 Decl of Mojdeh Jalali Heravi, # 28 Decl of Vahid Jazayeri, # 29 Decl of Mohammad Shafiei Khadem, # 30 Decl of Ahmad Moghaddam, # 31 Decl of Younes Nouri, # 32 Decl of Proshat Parsimoghadam, # 33 Decl of Emad Soroush, # 34 Decl of Tannaz Sattari Tabrizi, # 35 Decl of Seyed Danial Vaezi, # 36 Decl of Banafsheh Samareh Abolhasani, # 37 Decl of Armin Alaghi, # 38 Decl of Pegah Jalali Asheghabadi, # 39 3rd Decl of Rovy Branon, # 40 5th Decl of Asif Chaudhry, # 41 Decl of Maryam Dadkhahan, # 42 Decl of Jason Detwiler, # 43 2nd Decl of David Eaton, # 44 Decl of Kiana Ehsani, # 45 Decl of Ali Farhadi, # 46 Decl of Hoda Farhadi, # 47 Decl of Maryam Fayazi, # 48 Decl of Mohammad Ghaedi, # 49 Decl of Anne Greenbaum, # 50 Decl of Hannaneh Hajishirzi, # 51 2nd Decl of Deirdre Heatwole, # 52 Decl of Parisa Hosseinzadeh, # 53 Decl of Adam Mokhalalati, # 54 Decl of Shima Nofallah, # 55 4th Decl of Jeffrey Riedinger, # 56 Decl of Solmaz Shakerifard, # 57 Decl of Khadijeh Sheikhan, # 58 Decl of Ali Shojaie, # 59 Decl of Hema Yoganarasimhan, # 60 2nd Decl of Kathy Oline, # 61 2nd Decl of Dave Soike, # 62 2nd Decl of Rita Zawaideh, # 63 2nd Decl of Mitra Akhtari, # 64 2nd Decl of Melanie de Leon, # 65 Decl of Payam Fotouhiyehpour, # 66 2nd Decl of Marc Overbeck, # 67 2nd Decl of Sana Parsian, # 68 Decl of Sahar Z. Zangenah, # 69 2nd Decl of Dennis Galvan, # 70 Proposed Order) Noting Date 10/16/2017, (Melody, Colleen)

SECOND
DECLARATION OF
RABYAAH
ALTHAIBANI

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The Honorable James L. Robart

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON

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STATE OF WASHINGTON; STATE
OF CALIFORNIA; STATE OF
MARYLAND; COMMONWEALTH
OF MASSACHUSETTS; STATE OF
NEW YORK; and STATE OF
OREGON,

CIVIL ACTION NO. 2:17-cv-00141-JLR

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Plaintiffs,
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v.
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DONALD TRUMP, in his official
capacity as President of the United
States; U.S. DEPARTMENT OF
HOMELAND SECURITY; ELAINE
C. DUKE, in her official capacity as
Acting Secretary of the Department of
Homeland Security; REX
TILLERSON, in his official capacity
as Secretary of State; and the UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA,

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Defendants.

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Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1746(2), I, Rabyaah Althaibani, hereby declare as follows:
1. I am a New York City resident, a United States (“U.S.”) citizen, and a Yemeni-American.

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I have personal knowledge of the facts set forth in this declaration, and I am competent to testify

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about them.

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2. I immigrated with my family to the U.S. from Yemen in 1985. We joined my extended

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family in New York City, as they were part of one of the first waves of Yemeni immigrants to

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New York City in the 1960s.
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3. I currently work as a Program Associate at the Center for New York City Neighborhoods.
4. The Executive Order issued on January 27, 2017, entitled “Protecting the Nation from

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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW YORK
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271-0332

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Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States,” created a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety

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for me as to my husband’s visa application to the U.S. The new Proclamation issued on

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September 24, 2017, which imposes an indefinite ban on travel to the U.S. for many Yemeni

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nationals has exacerbated this uncertainty. Additionally, as a prominent Yemeni-American
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advocate, and organizer of the “Yemeni Bodega Strike,” I know many members of the Yemeni-

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American community who are facing similar uncertainty as to the re-unification of their families

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and their ability to travel outside the U.S.

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5. I met my husband, a Yemeni national, in 2010 around the time of the Arab Spring in Yemen.

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At the time, he was an independent journalist and executive director of the Yemeni Institute for
Social Studies. In that position, he ran research programs, some of which were funded by U.S.

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based think tanks, on issues such as women’s rights and empowerment.
6. We were engaged in 2015, just as the war in Yemen was worsening. While I was in the

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U.S., my husband had to flee Yemen out of fear for his life. Due to the dire situation he had to

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travel by boat to Djibouti, before re-locating to Goa, India.

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7. We were married in India in January 2016. Shortly thereafter I filed an I-130 (Petition for

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Alien Relative), for my husband to join me in the U.S. He moved to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

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in August 2016, because Malaysia was accepting visas from Yemeni-nationals fleeing the war.
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8. On November 18, 2016, I was granted an interview on the petition with the United States

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Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”). At the interview, I was told that his petition

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was approved, and that I would receive a letter from the National Visa Center within four to six

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weeks instructing us on how to proceed.

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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW YORK
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271-0332

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9. I received a letter from the National Visa Center on January 6, 2017, which contained

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instructions about filing fees for the petition and information about what documents to gather

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for his interview at the embassy in Kuala Lumpur.

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10. We paid the filing fees on January 19, 2017, and I was in the process of compiling all of the
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relevant paper work when the Executive Order entitled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign

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Terrorist Entry into the United States,” (“The Executive Order”) was issued on January 27,

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2017.

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11. After January 27, 2017, there was no news on my husband’s visa application, and I was

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devastated. Then, after the Washington District Court’s Stay was put in place, I received a letter
from the National Visa Center, stating that as of February 3, 2017, they had received all of the

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paperwork, and that they were going to send the information to the U.S. embassy in Kuala
Lumpur to set up an interview. We were given a priority date of April 4, 2017, but have not

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heard anything since.

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12. If there were no ban – to my understanding, his application would at least continue to be

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processed. I do not have that assurance here.

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13. Our separation has propelled me into a constant state of uncertainty with regard to our

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family and our future. I am thirty-nine years old and everything from family-planning to buying
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a house is on hold. I am under immense pressure financially, physically and mentally, since

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our future truly depends on his ability to get a visa to the U.S.

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14. My husband was a well-known and respected journalist in Yemen who reported on the

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growth of extremist ideologies in Yemen. He did this coming from the perspective that

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uncovering the reality of these ideologies would disarm terrorists. Seeing the country, he grew

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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW YORK
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271-0332

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up in turn into a state of chaos – he did not shy away from helping others by staying committed

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to uncovering the truth. What is hard to understand is how someone like him could potentially

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be barred from entering the U.S. solely because he is from Yemen, a country that is majority

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Muslim.
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15. At the same time, as a prominent advocate on behalf of the Yemeni-American community

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in New York, I have been in a state of crisis management. I have received calls from many

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Yemeni-American community members, who are terrified that they will not be re-united with

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family members fleeing war.

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16. My involvement with the Yemeni-American community in the days after the Executive
Order was issued, led me to be one of the primary organizers of the “Yemeni Bodega Strike,”

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also known as “The Bodega Protest.”
17. The protest was organized in direct response to the first Executive Order, as many Yemeni-

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Americans who own “bodegas,” small convenient stores throughout New York City, and other

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similar businesses were directly impacted by the 90-day ban on Yemeni-nationals entering the

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U.S. Many of these business owners came to the U.S. to seek a better life and provide for their

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families, and were now unsure they could ever be re-united with their families in the U.S.

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18. The protest occurred in Brooklyn, New York on February 2, 2016 – six days after the
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issuance of the first Executive Order.

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19. To underline the importance of Yemeni-owned businesses to New York City’s economy

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and culture, over 1,500 Yemeni-owned bodegas closed shop for eight hours while they attended

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the protest.

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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW YORK
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271-0332

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20. Ultimately, approximately 2,000 New Yorkers of all backgrounds peacefully protested

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outside courthouses in Brooklyn, New York. It was an incredible event that brought together

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many communities, and even facilitated meaningful interfaith coalitions. It was a true example

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of the spirit of New York, and the U.S.
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21. The new Executive Proclamation issued on September 24, 2017, still contains the baseline

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rule that bans many Yemeni nationals from obtaining visas to visit the U.S. Many members in

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the Yemeni-American community in New York, are still living in fear of not being able to travel

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outside the U.S., and are grappling with the reality that our families may never be re-united in

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the U.S.

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I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
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Executed on this 11th day of October, 2017

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______/s/__________
Rabyaah Althaibani

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ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NEW YORK
120 Broadway
New York, NY 10271-0332