CAIR Applauds House Judiciary Committee’s Passage of NO BAN Act
(WASHINGTON, D.C., 2/12/20) — The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today applauded the U.S. House Judiciary Committee’s passage of Rep. Judy Chu’s National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act or the NO BAN Act – a comprehensive bill repealing the Muslim Ban. CAIR
CAIR is now calling on all Americans to urge House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and their elected U.S. Representatives to immediately schedule a vote on the House floor and to approve the measure without any amendment.
TAKE ACTION: Urge the U.S. House to Repeal the Muslim Ban Today
During the Judiciary Committee’s consideration of the NO BAN Act, the act was amended to also repeal President Trump’s recent expansion of the Muslim Ban which primary targets several African countries with significant or majority Muslim populations.
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 mandatory reporting to Congress.
“For three long years the Trump
administration’s white supremacist agenda of separating American families under
the Muslim Ban has largely gone unchecked by Congress – that has changed today
with the House Judiciary Committee’s approval of the NO BAN Act. Congress
cannot wait another day to repeal the Trump administration’s attempt to
discriminate against Muslims and Africans. Speaker Pelosi and Congress must now
act to show the American people, and the world, that religious discrimination
will never be accepted by the American people,” said CAIR National
Executive Director Nihad Awad.
Washington Representative Pramila
Jayapal’s Access to Counsel Act of 2020 was
also passed by the committee – an act that would guarantee CBP and ICE provide
persons detained for more than an hour in secondary screening access to their
private legal counsel, including non-citizens and unaccompanied children, who
may be detained at the U.S. border or ports-of-entry for long periods of time.
CAIR’s action alert to Congress also
requests an immediate floor vote for that bill.
On January 31, the Trump Administration expanded the Muslim Ban to Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria,
Sudan, and Tanzania.
FULL VIDEO: CAIR, Civil Rights Partners Respond
to Trump’s Expanded Muslim Ban
On Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan and Nigeria, the
restrictions will apply to immigrant visas — for those seeking to live or work
in the U.S. permanently. For Sudan and Tanzania, the restrictions are being
placed on diversity visas. Iran, Syria, Libya, Venezuela, North Korea, Yemen,
and Somalia were already subject to the travel ban, and remain so.
On January 28, CAIR and other organizations
took part in a court hearing and rally in Richmond Va., challenging the Trump
administration’s Muslim Ban based on its discriminatory intent.
Video: Full News Conference Following Muslim Ban Court Hearing in
Richmond, Va.
In September, CAIR submitted a written statement endorsing the NO BAN Act to a joint congressional oversight hearing on the Trump administration’s Muslim Ban by U.S. House Judiciary’s Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship and Committee on Foreign Affairs’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights,
enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades
civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a
los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
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CONTACT: CAIR Government
Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com;
CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com