Washington
Leaders of Iranian-American organisations in the United Sates have testified in a district court in Washington against President Donald Trump's executive order banning new visas and immigration from six Muslim-majority countries.
U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan allowed live testimony by individuals, who alleged that they were harmed by the March 6 order, reports the Washington Post.
Members from the four groups - Four Pars Equality Center, the Iranian American Bar Association, National Iranian American Council, and Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans - testified in the court.
More Iranians received U.S. visas in 2015 than nationals from the other five countries on the list combined - Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Libya, according to the State Department data.
The Iranian students accounted for about 80 percent of foreign students last year from the same countries.
The lawyers of the suing groups said they assembled 16 plaintiffs and statements from 25 people to show a range of people harmed by the White House ban and to overcome legal barriers to suing in the federal court.
They also asked the judge on Tuesday to order a resumption of visa granting processes.
The White House issued its March order rescinding and replacing a broader January travel ban that courts had rejected. Trump's revised version suspended the U.S. refugee program for 120 days and halted for 90 days the issuance of new visas to people from the six countries
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