MEDIA ADVISORY (UPDATED 5/30/25): CAIR, Maria Kari of Project TAHA to Take Part in Chicago Hearing Seeking Evacuation of Americans from Gaza — Hearing CANCELED, Press Conference Postponed
- For Immediate Release and Distribution -
In December 2024, Illinois plaintiff Mariam Alrayes spoke at a press conference announcing the filing of the lawsuit to save her elderly parents and siblings trapped under relentless airstrikes in Gaza. Read the full press statement here.
UPDATED: Hearing and Press Conference on U.S. Evacuation of Americans from Gaza Postponed
(CHICAGO, 5/30/2025) - Due to unforeseen circumstances, the scheduled preliminary injunction hearing has been CANCELED by the judge. As a result, the press conference originally planned for later today has been postponed by CAIR and Maria Kari of Project TAHA. A new date for both will be announced once rescheduled.
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(ORIGINAL DETAILS, NOW POSTPONED)
(CHICAGO, 5/29/2025) - On Friday, May 30, attorneys representing the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, and attorney Maria Kari of Project Taha will take part in a preliminary injunction hearing in Chicago, Illinois, about their lawsuit demanding that the U.S. Department of State compel the evacuation of Americans and their families trapped in Gaza.
WHEN: Friday, May 30, 2025
10:30 a.m. CT - Preliminary Injunction Hearing
2:30 p.m. CT - Press Conference
WHERE:
Hearing - Everett McKinley Dirksen US Courthouse, 219 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60604
Press Conference: CAIR-Chicago's Azima Center, 17 N State St., Suite 1500, Chicago, IL 60602
CONTACT: Ahmed Rehab, Executive Director of CAIR-Chicago, 202-870-0166, arehab@cair.com; Hafsa Haider, Communications Coordinator of CAIR-Chicago, 561-317-7509; hhaider@cair.com; Maria Kari, info@mariakari.org
In a statement, attorney Maria Kari of Project Taha:
“The State Department’s refusal to act is not just negligence. It is complicity in the genocide of the Palestinian people, which includes Palestinian-Americans. We will not allow this betrayal to go unchallenged. Friday’s hearing is about holding the U.S. government accountable for abandoning its constitutional duty to Americans and endangering American families. We are asking the court to act where the executive branch has refused.”
Earlier this month, CAIR and Project TAHA secured the evacuation of American citizens Khalid Mourtaga and Mariam Harara, who returned to the United States after surviving nineteen months of aerial bombardment, multiple forced displacements, and prolonged starvation in Gaza.
Their safe return came only after the filing of a lawsuit and delivery of an urgent letter to the State Department to compel the evacuation of Americans and their families.
SEE: Motion for Preliminary Injunction Filed in March 2025
SEE: CAIR, Law Office of Maria Kari Lawsuit Against President Biden and Anthony Blinken
BACKGROUNDER:
Since October 2023, the State Department has approved the evacuation of multiple Americans and their families from Gaza. However, the lack of logistical support, diplomatic engagement, and failure to secure safe passage resulted in an incomplete evacuation process with Americans and their immediate relatives still stranded in one of the most dangerous places on earth.
Among those still awaiting evacuation is Salsabeel Elhelou, an American citizen, who is being forced to choose between safety and separation from her three minor children, who are not US citizens but were previously approved for evacuation by the US government. The State Department now refuses to evacuate Salsabeel’s children. Other clients either continue to await evacuation directives from the US embassy or have been given the impossible decision of leaving family members, including spouses and parents, behind.
SEE: CAIR Letter Calling on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Evacuate Americans from Gaza
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com