TAKE ACTION TO RESCIND THE MUSLIM BAN​

In response to former president Donald Trump’s Muslim Ban, Congress has been seeking legislative means to rescind the ban and amend the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to ensure that future administrations are unable to enact such a discriminatory ban again. Now, we are one step closer to achieving this goal! 

At Emgage’s ‘Million Muslim Votes Summit’, then presidential candidate Joe Biden promised to end the Muslim Ban “on day one” in office. And on his first day, President Joe Biden rescinded the Muslim Ban by executive order, upholding his campaign commitment to the Muslim community. Rescinding the ban, however, is only one step. Legislation must be enacted to ensure no future administration can abuse its executive powers to enact a discriminatory ban. That is why Emgage Action is an original endorsee of the NO BAN Act. If passed, this bill will: 

1. Ensure that individuals immigrating to the United States CANNOT be barred from entry on the basis of religion

2. Impose limitations on the President’s authority to suspend or restrict immigrants from entering the United States 

3. Prohibit religious discrimination in various immigration-related decisions (i.e. issuing immigrant or non-immigrant visas). 

We are grateful to our coalition partners and advocates like you who helped lead us to the passage of the NO BAN Act through the House. We believe no human is illegal, no human can be banned, and no human is unwelcome. Our next step is to engage advocates like you to help pass this bill in the Senate (S.1891).

During his 2016 campaign, then-presidential candidate Donald Trump vowed to institute a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States,” and declared “Islam hates us.” Within his first week in office, he delivered on this campaign promise and issued the first executive order, banning nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries, suspending entry for Syrian refugees indefinitely, and prohibiting other refugees from entering the country. 

After several federal judges filed to block the order, President Trump issued a second ban, which removed Iraq from the original order. Following the third iteration, signed in September 2017, the ban included five Muslim majority countries – Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen – as well as suspending entry of Venezuelan and North Korean officials. 

On June 26, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) upheld the President’s third iteration of the discriminatory Muslim Ban. With a 5-4 decision, SCOTUS deemed that it was within the President’s power through the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to enforce suspending the entry of individuals into the United States.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE: 

Since Trump’s first executive order, Emgage Action, alongside partners including the Muslim Advocates, No Muslim Ban Ever, American Civil Liberties Union, National Immigration Law Center, Council on American-Islamic Relations, Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, National Iranian American Council, and many more, have fought the discriminatory policy by: 

1. Endorsing the NO BAN Act 

2. Advocating for the passage of the NO BAN Act by connecting constituents to their members of Congress 

3. Submitting over 600 letters to members of Congress urging them to repeal the ban 

4. Successfully lobbying in-district to get all democratic representatives in VA, MI, TX, FL, and 8 in PA signing on to the NO BAN Act. 

5. Uplifting the first congressional hearing on the NO BAN Act on September 24, 2019 

6. Submitting an official statement for the record on the first congressional hearing of the Muslim Ban

CONTINUING THE FIGHT: 

As proud Americans, we stand for religious freedoms for all people, no exceptions. Banning vulnerable communities based on their religious identity is not only against the basis of our constitution, but also against our common humanity.

The Muslim Ban has separated families, denied individuals of life-saving medical procedures, and prohibited others from visiting their family within the United States. In addition, it has contributed to the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment and violence by promoting a dangerous myth that Muslims are a foreign “other,” not part of American society, and therefore, pose a threat.

We are grateful to our coalition partners and community advocates who helped lead us to the passage of the NO BAN Act through the House. We believe no human is illegal, no human can be banned, and no human is unwelcome. Our next step is to engage advocates like you to help pass this bill in the Senate (S.1891). Please take 2 minutes to urge your senator to support and vote yes for the NO BAN Act.