The United States House of Representatives voted 233-183 on Wednesday to pass legislation revoking President Donald Trump’s controversial order prohibiting immigrants from mostly Muslim countries from entering.
The bill, called the NO BAN Act, was widely endorsed by Democratic lawmakers, but it is unlikely to advance in the Senate due to opposition from Republicans and the White House.
“Today there are millions of Americans who, because of the Muslim ban, are separated from families and loved ones: parents who cannot reunite, families who cannot reunite, grandparents who are missing life events,” he said. Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, a group that supports the bill.
The bill expands the anti-discrimination provisions in the United States immigration law and would limit the ability of future United States presidents to prohibit entry based on religion.
Today, the Chamber approved the #NoBanAct because no one should be discriminated against or singled out for the faith they practice. I will end President Trump’s Muslim ban on the first day and sign this bill.
– Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 22, 2020
Specifically, the bill would end Trump’s executive orders imposing a ban on immigration from mostly Muslim countries. The president’s initial ban was directed at Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, drawing criticism that it amounted to illegal religious discrimination. Trump then expanded the ban to include Venezuela and North Korea, and then added Nigeria, Sudan, Myanmar, and three other countries to the list.
In Wednesday’s debate, Democrats plan to share stories of dozens of their American constituents who have seen family members prevented from entering the United States for arbitrary reasons under the ban.
However, the legislation is unlikely to be adopted in the Republican-led Senate, which means prospects for passage this year are slim. Instead, it appears that the issue will be waged in the United States presidential election contest.
Democratic candidate for president of the United States and former Vice President Joe Biden pledged to reverse President Trump’s executive orders imposing an effective ban on immigration from various Muslim countries [Leah Millis/Reuters]
On Monday, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, who is courting Muslim votes, told a Muslim political organization that he would reverse the ban if he were elected president “on the first day.”
Biden appeared by video at a two-day virtual conference organized by Emgage Action and attended by 3,000 American Muslim voters.
“Muslim communities are the first to feel Donald Trump’s assault on black and brown communities in this country, with his vile Muslim ban. That fight was the opening barrier in what has been nearly four years of constant insult and pressure “Biden told the group.
“If I have the honor of being president, I will end the Muslim ban on the first day,” said Biden.
Wa’el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action, a Muslim-American political mobilization and civic engagement organization, said: “Biden’s vote to end the Muslim ban on the first day of his presidency is moving.”
“It exemplifies their commitment to end this form of institutionalized Islamophobia that has caused great pain to global Muslim communities,” Alzayat told Al Jazeera.
Former Vice President Joe Biden comments on Emgage Action’s Million Muslim Votes virtual summit. # JoeBiden # Joe2020 #BidenForPresident # Biden2020Landslide #TeamJoe #emgageaction #muslimvotes # JoeBidenForPresident2020 #joebiden @TeamJoe
Watchhttps: //t.co/xRXAI8tqo1
– Political Hub (@ PoliticalHub24) July 20, 2020
In a political speech at the White House last week, Trump cited his travel ban while seeking to draw distinctions between himself and Biden.
Trump accuses Biden of wanting “to end all travel bans, including from jihadist regions,” and hinted that Biden would allow “people who are going to enter and exploit our cities to do things.”
But that rhetoric belies the facts and data on how the travel ban has been implemented to effectively ban immigration from predominantly Muslim countries, Khera said.
“Their argument is what Trump has been saying from the get-go, that is, they try to wrap what is blatant fanaticism in a cloak of national security that does not meet the true threat and is not the reality of who is being excluded from the country, “he said.
The bill would require the U.S. Department of State, In consultation with the Department of Homeland Security, to provide a public report on the number of people denied entry to specific countries.
Democrats had planned to bring the NO BAN bill to the House floor for a vote in early March, but withdrew the legislation due to the coronavirus causing COVID-19.
House Democrats plan to tell the stories of their American Muslim voters who have suffered Trump’s Muslim ban [Yuri Gripas/Reuters]
Republicans had planned to attack the legislation as an irresponsible offer by congressional Democrats to prevent Trump from imposing travel bans to limit the spread of the virus.
The bill was amended to provide a “public safety” exception that allows presidents to restrict travel as necessary “to contain a communicable disease of public health importance.”
“We are not very excited about the language that was added at the last minute,” said Iman Awad, legislative director of Emgage Action.
“We believe that it stigmatizes the immigrant community, and especially during this elevated rhetoric from President Trump, we are concerned to link any of these negative stereotypes to the immigrant community,” Awad told Al Jazeera.
The Trump administration, through another executive order issued in April, has effectively closed immigration to the United States today due to the pandemic.
Legislation to lift the so-called “Muslim ban” was introduced by Democrats in April 2019 and is sponsored in the House by Representative Judy Chu of California and in the United States Senate by Chris Coons of Delaware.
The United States Supreme Court ruled in 2017 that the President has the authority to impose the ban under current immigration law in the United States. During his 2015 election campaign, Trump had called for a “total and complete closure of Muslims entering the United States.”
.
