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Syrian refugee sues over travel ban

By: Associated Press//February 14, 2017//

Syrian refugee sues over travel ban

By: Associated Press//February 14, 2017//

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MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Syrian refugee living in Dane County has filed a federal lawsuit alleging President Donald Trump’s executive order halting immigration from seven countries is unconstitutional.

The man filed anonymously Monday to protect his wife and 3-year-old daughter, who are still in Aleppo, from being targeted by military regimes.

He had applied for them to join him in the United States, but his lawsuit filed Monday in Madison says processing was halted Jan. 27 when Trump stopped temporarily stopped immigration from seven predominantly Muslim and indefinitely banned refugees from Syria.

According to his lawsuit: The man was granted asylum status in May 2016 to escape torture in Syria. He had been imprisoned and tortured by members of President Bashar al-Assad’s military regime, then targeted and placed on a “kill list” of a militant group fighting against Assad.

As his case was pending, his 3-year-old son fell three floors to his death in 2015 while attempting to escape rocket fire that hit their home. Soon after, the man began pursuing asylum for his wife and daughter.

The man’s wife and daughter are living in hiding to avoid being raped or murdered by Assad’s regime, according to the lawsuit. The man argues that preventing them from entering the United States does not serve the alleged purpose of the executive order, which is to prevent people with hostile attitudes toward the country from entering. He argues that the executive order does not adequately address situations like his.

Attorneys from Holwell Shuster and Goldberg, a New York law firm, are representing the man. More than two dozen cases challenging the executive order have been filed in federal court.

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