"No Muslim Ban Ever" Coalition Endorses Legislation to Repeal Muslim Ban

Washington, DC -- In response to the introduction of the National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Non-Immigrants Act (NO BAN Act) by Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Representative Judy Chu (D-CA), member organizations of the “No Muslim Ban Ever” coalition released the following statements:

“The Muslim Ban is racist and wrong -- full stop,” said Zahra Billoo, Executive Director of the San Francisco-Bay Area chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “It has already had devastating consequences -- from loved ones senselessly being kept apart, to families being denied the opportunity to celebrate milestones or mourn together at funerals, to countless people being kept from pursuing life-saving medical treatment and educational and professional opportunities. The NO BAN Act is a critical step towards ensuring that Muslims and other communities are not subjected to unconstitutional discrimination, and that the federal government is held accountable for any attempts to bar certain communities from the United States. As Donald Trump ramps up his xenophobic, white nationalist agenda ahead of 2020, legislation like this is more important than ever to protecting our most vulnerable communities. We urge members of Congress who haven’t endorsed the No BAN Act to do so immediately.”

“We are encouraged by today's introduction of the No Ban Act,” said Elica Vafaie, Staff Attorney at Asian Americans Advancing Justice. “We've seen the devastating impact on countless families of U.S. citizens, green card holders, students, and those with urgent medical needs since the Muslim Ban, the Refugee Ban, and the Asylum Bans have been in effect. While today is just a first step, we must all come together to restore dignity for everyone."

“The Muslim Ban -- along with family separation, mass detention, limiting access to critical services, and countless other abhorrent policies -- is yet another pillar of this administration’s extreme anti-immigrant agenda, and stands in stark contrast to our nation’s most sacred values of inclusivity and religious freedom,” said Avideh Moussavian,  Legislative Director at the National Immigration Law Center. “Congressional leaders are taking an important step with the NO BAN Act to repeal discriminatory bans targeting Muslims, refugees and asylum seekers and to ensure these bans are not issued in the future. We urge Members to support this bill and are committed to continuing to fight in the halls of Congress, in the courtroom, at the ballot box, and alongside our communities to repeal these discriminatory bans.

“Trump's Muslim Ban has had a devastating impact on our communities,” said Linda Sarsour, Executive Director of MPower Change. “We welcome today's introduction of the NO BAN Act as an important step towards an immigration system that does not discriminate against people based on their religion or where they come from. We are hopeful that elected officials and candidates for higher office will see the clear moral imperative and take action to #RepealTheBan." 

The NO BAN Act includes three critical components to fighting the Ban:

• It repeals each iteration of the Muslim Ban – including one that specifically targeted refugees for extreme vetting – as well as an asylum ban issued after the Supreme Court’s ruling and that relied on the same authority as the Muslim Ban;

• It amends the Immigration Nationality Act’s nondiscrimination provision to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on religion and to apply all nondiscrimination protections to immigrant and nonimmigrant visa applicants alike;

• It responsibly limits overly broad executive authority to issue future bans by, among other things, imposing stricter requirements and reporting requirements to Congress.

The “No Muslim Ban Ever” coalition is co-led by the following organizations:

• Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Asian Law Caucus

• National Immigration Law Center

• Council on American-Islamic Relations San Francisco Bay Area

• MPower Change