Latest News
Overview
- For the last 4 years, millions of Muslim and immigrant families have been separated by the Muslim and African Bans — but President Biden just ended the ban!
- This is a huge win for the Muslim community and their allies who worked tirelessly to end this injustice.
- It’s not over yet. The vestiges of the ban will take a while to disentangle.
- Congress needs to act to pass the NO BAN Act to ensure this never happens again.
How does this affect me?
Under the proclamation, the Secretary of State shall direct all embassies and consulates to cease applying the repealed executive orders and proclamations and resume all processing of visas.
Learn more about the timeline for visa processing and for individuals whose cases were denied under the ban.
What happens next?
Because the ban has been in effect for years, it has already imposed a severe burden on many visa applicants, and discouraged many others—sometimes with devastating results for families and lives. It is not enough merely to discontinue the ban. It is also necessary to start healing the damage done.
Beyond rescinding the Muslim Ban, Muslim Advocates has therefore advised the Biden/Harris Administration to take specific affirmative steps to undo the ban’s profound harms.
Both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of State (DOS) must rigorously review their policies and practices to streamline and simplify requirements for those who have been needlessly separated from family members for years as a result of the Muslim Ban. The Biden/Harris Administration should issue directives to DHS and DOS to provide guidance on immediate actions and administrative changes to restore and strengthen the expeditious and accurate processing of all visa applications from the affected countries.
Read the specific actions that the government must take to reunite separated families and heal the damage.
How did we get here?
On September 24, 2017, as the provisions of his Muslim Ban 2.0 were set to expire, President Trump released a Presidential Proclamation that extended the ban on nationals from most of the six countries targeted by Muslim Ban 2.0 while imposing new restrictions on others. Muslim Ban 3.0, enacted by President Trump’s Proclamation, initially excluded travelers from eight countries – Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen – and imposed country-specific restrictions on each. This ban applies to nationals from the affected countries who are applying for a visa to enter the United States.
On April 10, 2018, Chad was removed from the list of targeted countries. On June 26, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Muslim Ban 3.0. Read our fact sheets for more information.
On January 31, 2020, President Trump signed a presidential proclamation expanding the Muslim Ban to include six additional countries: Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania. The proclamation maintained the original restrictions for Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, North Korea and Venezuela under Presidential Proclamation 9645 from 2017. Read our fact sheet.
How do we prevent this from happening again?
Congress must pass the NO BAN Act. It will amend the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion by any future administration.
Throughout U.S. history, laws restricting immigration have been used to prevent Jews, Catholics, Mormons, and Muslims from entering the U.S. or enjoying the same rights and privileges as their fellow Americans. The NO BAN Act will ensure that no president will ever again be able to ban an entire community without accountability.
Our team has been working around the clock to bring you timely, informative resources. Please support community-led advocacy.
