WASHINGTON, DC — After news broke that the Trump Administration is considering expanding the Muslim Ban to more countries, Muslim Advocates’ executive director Farhana Khera released the following statement. Khera and Muslim Advocates’ client Ismail Alghazali were both witnesses at the first and only congressional hearing on the Muslim Ban, which was held in September. Muslim Advocates has also filed a class action lawsuit, Emami v. Nielsen, seeking a federal court’s intervention to force the administration to meet its commitment to create a clear Muslim Ban waiver process, which it has failed to do:

“Religious bans violate our nation’s commitment to nondiscrimination. Congress must act to right this wrong. The Supreme Court’s 5-4 decision in 2018 upholding the third iteration of the Trump Muslim Ban rooted its flawed decision in a federal law created by Congress that granted any president authority to suspend or restrict the entry of foreign nationals.  Congress created an overly broad law, but Congress can now rein in that law by enacting the NO BAN Act.  

Thousands of Americans have been separated from their families — spouses separated from each other, parents separated from children, and grandmothers separated from grandchildren — simply because of their faith and national origin.  This is cruel and not what was intended by Congress when it enacted laws to regulate the flow of visitors and immigrants to our country in a nondiscriminatory manner.  

Over the past two months, the NO BAN Act has shown signs of momentum.  Today, there are 199 co-sponsors in the House and 36 in the Senate. In September, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight held the first – and thus far only – hearing on the Muslim Ban in Congress. 

We know banning people because of their faith is wrong. We know that separating families is cruel and inhumane. We also know we can stop it. All we need is the political courage and leadership.

That’s why I’m urging all Americans to call their members of Congress and urge them to take meaningful action to stop the ban. I also urge House leadership to prioritize moving the NO BAN Act to the floor for immediate passage.”

Additional Resources:

• Congress holds first ever hearing on the Muslim Ban
• Nearly 400 groups call on Congress to pass the NO BAN Act
• Leading companies back the NO BAN Act
• Stories from people harmed by the Muslim Ban
• Muslim Advocates’ NO BAN Act action center

Muslim Advocates is a national civil rights organization working in the courts, in the halls of power and in communities to halt bigotry in its tracks. We ensure that American Muslims have a seat at the table with expert representation so that all Americans may live free from hate and discrimination.