Hickenlooper, Bennet, Colleagues Reintroduce Bill to Prevent Muslim Ban

NO BAN Act would prohibit discriminatory immigration bans like one President Trump implemented in 2017
WASHINGTON –
Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet joined their Senate colleagues to reintroduce the
National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act
, which protects against discriminatory immigration bans like those President Trump implemented during his first term.
Specifically, the
NO BAN Act
would prohibit religious discrimination in our immigration laws and ensure that any use of the President’s authority to suspend entry into the country would be based on specific and credible facts, and be narrowly tailored to address a compelling government interest.
“During his first term, Trump’s Muslim ban stripped people of their rights and separated entire families,”
said Hickenlooper.
“Americans deserve real solutions on immigration, not prejudicial bans that cause chaos and suffering.”
“For generations, immigrants and refugees have come to our country to flee religious persecution and seek a better life. My own family is part of this story – my mom’s family survived the Holocaust and came to the United States because it was the only country in the world where they believed they could rebuild their shattered lives,”
said Bennet.
“That’s why I’ll keep working with my colleagues to oppose efforts to shape our refugee program by religious or ethnic preferences that betray the values that have made our country strong.”
As a candidate for president in 2016, Donald Trump promised to ban Muslim immigrants from the United States. Upon taking office, he tried to enact bans that were repeatedly struck down by the courts until the conservative majority of the Supreme Court ultimately upheld a version of the ban by a 5-4 vote. The discriminatory bans caused widespread harm, separating
1,545 children
from their American parents and
3,460 parents
from their American sons and daughters.
President Biden reversed the discriminatory bans, but now that President Trump’s the threat of their revival remains. He already issued an
executive order
that requires government departments to identify nations whose migration and screening processes are “so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries.” The order lays the groundwork for another ban on migration from predominantly Muslim countries. This legislation is necessary to prevent such discriminatory actions.
The
NO BAN Act
would:
Expand the nondiscrimination provisions in the
Immigration and Nationality Act
to include religious discrimination, and extend them to the issuance of nonimmigrant visas and benefits.
Require that any travel restriction imposed under the
Immigration and Nationality Act
be based on specific and credible facts, and be narrowly tailored to address a compelling government interest.
Require notice to Congress within 48 hours of instituting a ban and follow-up reporting.
Full text of the bill is available
HERE.