A group of Democratic lawmakers introduced bills in the House and Senate on Wednesday aimed at blocking a second ban on immigration from certain Muslim countries.
The No Ban Act would strengthen federal immigration laws to prevent discrimination on the basis of religion and limit “overly broad executive powers” to issue travel bans.
The bill is led by Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware) and is similar to a bill passed by the House in 2021.
The travel ban, issued by former President Trump in January 2017, initially targeted immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries, but was amended in the face of legal challenges and eventually extended to include Iran, Syria, Yemen, Libya and Somalia, as well as North Korea and Venezuela, and was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
President Biden rescinded the ban when he took office in 2021. President Trump has threatened to reinstate a similar ban if re-elected.
“A stain on our country of hate, President Trump’s Muslim ban was born of bigotry and Islamophobia and has caused lasting damage to families separated,” Chu said in a statement. “I am so grateful that the Biden-Harris Administration has taken steps to repeal all versions of this travel ban on its first day in office, but we cannot risk allowing bigotry against Muslims and other religious minorities to once again become policy.”
Coons slammed Trump’s ban as “cruel” and “counterproductive.”
“This policy has torn families apart, held people in airports for hours, limited access to food, water and lawyers, and violated the very essence of who we are as a nation,” he said in a statement. “We must ensure that this senseless policy is never repeated and that our elected officials cannot discriminate on the basis of religion or national origin out of fear and prejudice.”
