Jewish Family Services of Silicon Valley is taking on Donald Trump.
The Los Gatos-based social service agency, along with other like-minded agencies and individuals, filed suit in U.S. District Court today, challenging the Trump administration’s Oct. 24 executive order banning refugees from 11 countries, most of them Muslim-majority.
The lawsuit is distinct from a similar suit filed by the ACLU and Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay against an earlier Trump executive order.
The latest order blocks for at least 90 days refugee resettlement from the 11 countries and indefinitely pauses the follow-to-join program, which reunites spouses and children with refugees already in the United States. A nationwide preliminary injunction motion on both restrictions will be filed in the coming days.
Mindy Berkowitz, executive director of the Los Gatos-based JFS, said, “With family members stuck in limbo and awaiting the chance at safety in the United States, our clients here are begging us, ‘Please save my sister and her little boy. Please save my cousin.’ These refugees cannot go back to their home countries for fear of further persecution, and now America is turning its back on them in their time of urgent need.”
In addition to JFS of Silicon Valley and Jewish Family Service of Seattle — both local partners of HIAS, the global Jewish nonprofit agency that protects refugees — plaintiffs include several U.S. citizens and others with family members impacted by the new restrictions.
The plaintiffs argue that the restrictions would block numerous refugees from seeking resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program. Claiming anti-Muslim bias, plaintiffs note that approximately 80 percent of all Muslim refugees who resettled in the United States in the past two years have come from nine of the 11 blocked countries.
Last month, the administration capped annual refugee admissions at a maximum of 45,000, down from 110,000 set by President Barack Obama the year before.
Plaintiffs are being represented by the International Refugee Assistance Project at the Urban Justice Center; the National Immigration Law Center; attorneys Lauren Aguiar, Mollie M. Kornreich and Abigail Sheehan Davis; Perkins Coie; and HIAS. The complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Said HIAS CEO Mark Hetfield, “The global refugee crisis has reached record high proportions, yet the Trump administration has set a record low ceiling for refugees that may be resettled to the United States. In addition, the administration has once again attempted a ban by indefinitely closing the door on refugees of 11 nationalities, and has even thrown obstacles in the way to prevent refugee spouses from reuniting with one another and with their young children. We’ve seen this before, and we won’t stand for it.”
Added Berkowitz, “We’re hoping to get an injunction that will stop [the executive order]. At this point it’s a case of literally saving lives.”
Corruption pure and simple. JFS and HIAS are on the government dole now; they get money for bringing in “refugees” (and then as quickly as possible registering said refugees with the dole).
Half of HIAS’s budget now comes from the government.
They’re bringing in tens of thousands of people from the most virulently anti-Jewish countries in the world. Isn’t it ironic that an organization founded to aid Jewish refugees, is laying the groundwork to make future refugees of American Jews.
I don’t understand.
It says Jewish family services. What does that mean? Is it family related services rendered to the jewish community? It is Jews that provide family services to the general public? Is it family related services provided with a Jewish cultural approach?
Or it a bunch of lefties that have taken over a foundation created by donors who gave money thinking it was going to one of the things I mentioned essentially stealing the foundations money to pursue their own lefty agenda?
So a group that should be I think providing housing and employment and health/mental health services to a population is now hiring lawyers to fight immigration policy?
There’s nothing so disgusting as lefties that steal money from actual poor people to pursue their lefty feel good me first I’m so important get new in the best and impress my lefty friends in this way.
You wanna know why trump won and will probably win again in 2020? Because lefties don’t actually give a crap about people…you know real people. They strip real money from real Americans who need it to pursue their own agendas.
It must suck to be a poor american. I mean the money that lefties fought to get so it can be to be spent on you to help you is now going to more important people.
Maybe poor folks in America should move to Syria so Jewish family services will give a poop about them.
I’ve had friends in the jewish community for whom assistance from this group was life saving.
Guess that time is over.
1. This is why I never give them money
2. This is why they are NOT “Jewish” services
3. This is why they SHOULD feel responsible and BE HELD responsible for huge increase of anti-Semitic incidents in Bay Area schools