Soma Syed & Associates

Soma Syed will be moderating DA’s Forum on Sunday, April 14 in Jamaica. Join her.

Speaking at the Town Hall on Ma*****na legalization in NY and Immigration Consequences, organized by QCYD.

Happy New Year from all of us at Soma Syed & Associates.

I am always happy to honor Scholarship winners of the Faith O’Neal Scholarship, Queens County Women’s Bar Foundation and spoke at ASAAL Convention on organization and politics.

Join us tomorrow.

Being recognized by Bangladeshi Community

My workshop coming up.

Free Immigration workshops.

Soma Syed & Associates is pleased to announce that we won a very protracted election law case in Queens Supreme Court.

Discussing current issues and answering immigration questions on TBN24 on June 5, 2017.

Attorney Soma Syed was the keynote speaker and honored at the 4th Annual Prestigious Gala of National Action Network on March 26, 2017 for her civic and civil rights work.

American citizens: U.S. border agents can search your cellphone

nbcnews.com NBC News found 25 cases where border agents demanded that U.S. citizens, nearly all Muslim, hand over their phones at airports and border crossings.

It's truly a remarkable result and hearty appreciation from a client that makes my profession worthy of pursuing...a thank you card from a client facing home foreclosure.

Trump's Immigration Ban: Americans Can Listen In on Court Hearing Today

Stay tune at 6 pm (EST) and 3 pm (PST) to listen in to the arguments against and for the Travel Ban and TRO. Live stream is available.

wallstreetonparade.com By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: February 7, 2017 President Donald Trump While President Donald Trump is proving himself to be a divider not a uniter, the

Immigration, Muslim Travel Ban, and Trump’s Executive Order

By Soma S. Syed, Esq., Immigration & Litigation Attorney


President Trump on the Holocaust Remembrance Day, Friday, January 27, 2017 signed the Executive Order that will forever live in infamy. This unconstitutional, illegal and inhumane Order bans Muslims from seven (7) countries - Libya, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Sudan. Interestingly, none of the terrorists involved in 9/11, Orlando Club shooting and San Bernandino office shooting are from these banned countries.

What is the Executive Order?

The Muslim Travel Ban indefinitely prohibits entry to Syrian refugees, bans admission to refugees with valid visas for 120 days, and otherwise Muslims from the 7 countries with valid visas, other than US citizens, for 90 days. Hundreds of people have been detained all over the country at various airports. They included students, doctors, translators, interpreters, green card holders, refugees, and tourists. In one case, an Iraqi translator who was traveling with his wife, and two children on the same visa was detained while his family was allowed to enter. In another case, a medical student has been detained. Others have been prevented from boarding airplanes in the country of origins and/or connecting countries. This Travel Ban has created chaos and has been applied indiscriminately as the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have received little guidance in its application.

Preliminary Ruling Blocking Application of Executive Order:

As a result of filing of habeas corpus by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Saturday in a New York case, Darweesh et al. v. Trump, et al., 17 Civ. 480 (AMD), the Eastern District Court Judge Ann Donnelly temporarily stayed the application of the Executive Order nationwide. This is a preliminary order pending full hearing on the constitutionality of the Executive Order. Various arguments have been raised ranging from violation of First Amendment (discrimination based on religion), Due Process Clause and Equal Protection Clause of the Thirteenth Amendment. A similar preliminary ruling was reached in a Boston case filed by two professors who were of Iranian descent. What is encouraging is that all of the initial rulings have been in favor of the plaintiffs. We will have to wait and see for a final ruling on these cases across the country.

Acting Attorney General (AG) Sally Yates and State Attorney Generals (SAG) of 16 States:

Acting AG Sally Yates stood up to President Trump by ordering her Justice Department not to defend the Executive Order. In return, she was fired within 3 hours of her announcement. In addition, 16 SAGs have vowed to fight the Executive Order and have applauded the Courts’ rulings, including NYS AG Eric Schneiderman.

Notice to Green-Card Holders, Individuals on Work-Visas, Student Visas, Dual Nationals, and other types of visas:

If you are in the USA on green card also known as permanent resident, work-visas such as H1-B, L1 etc., F-1 visas, and asylum and refugee status, please do not leave USA and plan any outside travel, including travel to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean Islands, or Europe. If you are outside of the 50 U.S. States, you are outside of USA. Even if you are not from one of the seven banned countries and are outside of the USA, please return to the USA as soon as possible. There have been known instances of people with dual nationalities and green cards who have been detained and are facing problems.

What can you do to help the cause of immigrants and be the champion of the First Amendment, Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause.

You can organize your community and peacefully protest against the Executive Order. A demonstration at the JFK airport on Saturday started a movement and ultimately led to your elected officials and community activists and organizers get involved. Your voice matters. Your vote matters. You need to protest and have your congresspeople oppose Trump’s cabinet picks. You can donate to certain organizations who are in the forefront of this fight. These are American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Make the Road New York, New York Immigration Coalition, Council on Islamic Relations (CAIR), Anti-Defamation League, and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Ask your congresspeople to withhold consent, filibuster and twitter out objection to Trump’s Executive orders. Please make sure you show up at your public events, district offices and voice what you want your elected officials to do.

Finally, my office, Soma Syed & Associates, www.ssalawusa.com, phone 718-261-2003, email: [email protected] can be helpful with any assistance you need. We are going to the airports and staying vigilant and gong to help immigrants and defend our democratic principles. Please stay vigilant and stay active.

Helpful Websites:
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) - https://www.aclu.org
National Immigration Law Center (NILC) - https://www.nilc.org
Make the Road New York - maketheroad.org
Council on Islamic Relations (CAIR) - http://www.cair.com
Anti-Defamation League - http://www.adl.org
the Southern Poverty Law Center - https://www.splcenter.org
International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) - https://refugeerights.org
CUNY CLEAR Project - http://www.cunyclear.org
Muslim Bar Association of New York (MUBANY) - https://mubany.wildapricot.org

Contact Soma Syed & Associates at 718-261-2003 or email [email protected] if you need legal assistance.

Announcement: Muslims and Immigrants - If you are on student visa, work visa, permanent resident or green card holder or other type of visa holders, please DO NOT leave USA!!!!

Have lawyers information on hand and keep families alert of your whereabouts.

American Civil Liberties Union

Announcement: For Muslims and Immigrants affected by Trump's Executive Order.

For NYC family/friends affected by the travel/immigration bans:

If you or your loved ones have a passport from Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, or Yemen, CUNY Clear is offering legal help in Arabic, Bangla, English, French, Spanish, Urdu, and many other languages. They provide advice and can do workshops at your local masjid.

Contact them at [email protected] or (718) 340-4558.

ALSO:

Emergency peaceful protest TONIGHT 1/28 at 6pm against detaining of Muslim travelers at JFK Airport Terminal 4 Arrivals. If you want to participate but can't be there, consider donating to these orgs:

International Refugee Assistance Program:
https://refugeerights.org

National Immigration Law Center:
https://www.nilc.org

American Civil Liberties Union:
http://www.aclu.org

www.aclu.org The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a national organization that works daily in courts, legislatures and communities to defend the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Looking forward to this day!!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year from our family to yours!!

First Time Home Buyers Seminar (Real Estate).

QCWBA Judiciary Night with Chief Judge DiFiore!

Please join us for a free seminar on first time home purchase. Please RSVP. Time and Date: Dec. 4 from 12 - 2 PM.

Celebrating Diwali in NYC at the Mayor's and on LI!

KACE's 20th Year Gala. Keynote speaker and honoree Congresswoman Grace Meng.

Judge Sentenced To 28 Years In Bribery Scandal

npr.org Mark Ciavarella Jr. was convicted of taking bribes from developers of juvenile detention centers. The case, known as "kids for cash" led to the tossing of 4,000 convictions issued by Ciavarella.

Very proud to have been able to sponsor the 31st Annual United American Muslim Day Parade!!!