Democratic lawmakers introduce bill targeting future Muslim bans

A group of Democratic lawmakers introduced bills in the House and Senate on Wednesday aimed at preventing a second ban on immigration from certain Muslim countries.

The National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act would strengthen federal immigration law to prevent discrimination based on religion, and limit “overly broad executive authority” to issue travel bans.

The bills are led by Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), and are similar to a bill passed by the House in 2021.

Former President Trump’s travel ban, enacted by executive order in January 2017, initially targeted immigration from seven majority-Muslim countries. It was modified as it faced legal challenges, eventually encompassing Iran, Syria, Yemen, Libya and Somalia as well as North Korea and Venezuela before the Supreme Court upheld it in 2018.

President Biden overturned the ban when he entered office in 2021. Trump has threatened to reinstate a similar ban if reelected.

“A hateful stain on our nation, Trump’s Muslim ban was inspired by bigotry and Islamophobia and did lasting damage to the families it separated,” Chu said in a statement. “I was so grateful when the Biden-Harris administration took action on its first day to rescind all versions of this ban, but we can’t risk letting prejudice against Muslims, or any other religious minority, become policy once again."

Coons labeled the Trump ban “cruel” and “counterproductive.”

“It tore apart families; led to the detention of people at airports for hours with limited access to food, water, or legal representation; and violated the very fabric of who we are as a country,” he said in a statement. “We must ensure that this senseless policy is never repeated and that no elected official acts on fear and prejudice to discriminate based on religion or nationality.”