Washington, DC — Today, the NO BAN Act Coalition is celebrating the end of the Muslim and African Ban and calling on Congress to take the next step and prevent similar bans from being enacted again. The NO BAN Act Coalition is an alliance of national and local civil rights, faith and community groups who have been working tirelessly to support passage of the NO BAN Act, a landmark Muslim civil rights bill that is included in the U.S. Citizenship Act, the Biden administration’s day one immigration legislation. The NO BAN Act, introduced by Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA), was passed with a bipartisan majority in the House on July 22, 2020. The following is a joint statement from 81 organizational members of the coalition on the repeal of the Muslim and African Ban:

“Goodbye to the Muslim and African Ban. Almost four years ago, one of President Trump’s first acts in office was to ban Muslims from the United States. Three years later, he expanded the ban to include several African countries. Today, it’s fitting that one of Biden’s first acts is to rescind the Muslim and African Ban. This is a momentous occasion for the millions of Americans who were separated by the ban and those who stood up against this injustice at airports nationwide. Thank you, President Biden for staying true to your promise to repeal this bigoted policy immediately.

The Muslim and African Ban was never about national security, it was always rooted in bigotry and called into question what values America stands for. However, just ending the ban through an executive order won’t stop this from happening again. That’s why we applaud the historic inclusion of the NO BAN Act in the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021.

The House of Representatives took the historic step of passing the NO BAN Act this past summer. It took years of work to break through the multiple barriers that stood in the way. Many members of Congress had never co-sponsored or voted for legislation to protect American Muslims from discrimination, the House of Representatives had never even held a hearing on the rights of American Muslims and no chamber of Congress had ever passed a Muslim civil rights bill.

But the NO BAN Act passed with a bipartisan majority because lifting this one ban is not enough. It’s vital that we ensure that no president ever again can ban people because of their faith or nationality. That’s why Congress must take this important next step and pass the NO BAN Act immediately.”

Signed,

Muslim Advocates

AFL-CIO

African Communities Together

America Indivisible

American Humanist Association

American Muslim Advisory Council

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)

Americans United for Separation of Church and State

Arab American Civic Council

Arab American Institute (AAI)

Asian Counseling and Referral Service

Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty

Bend the Arc Jewish Action

Black Alliance for Just Immigration

Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law

Center for American Progress

Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism-California State University, San Bernardino

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

Church World Service

Congregation of Sisters of St. Agnes

Connecticut Shoreline Indivisible

Constitutional Accountability Center

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

Emgage Action

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Foreign Policy for America

Forward as One

Foundation for Ethnic Understanding

Franciscan Action Network

Franciscan Sisters of the POOR

Free Press Action

Global Project Against Hate and Extremism

HIAS

Human Rights Campaign

ICNA CSJ

Immigration Hub

Interfaith Alliance

International Refugee Assistance Project

Islamic Networks Group (ING)

Islamic Society of North America

Japanese American Citizens League

Jewish Voice for Peace

KARAMAH: Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights

League of Women Voters of the United States

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service

MAPS-AMEN (American Muslim Empowerment Network)

Media Alliance

MediaJustice

Milstein Center for Interreligious Dialogue

Motivation Motivates

MoveOn

Multifaith Alliance for Syrian Refugees

Muslim Community Network

NAACP

NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF)

National Council of Jewish Women

National Hispanic Media Coalition

National Iranian American Council Action

National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund

National Religious Campaign Against Torture

New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good

Oakland Privacy

Oil Change U.S.

Only Through US

Peace Catalyst International

People For the American Way

Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA)

Seattle Immigrant Rights Action Group

Service Employees International Union

Shoulder to Shoulder

Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF)

Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team

Southeast Asia Resource Action Center

SPLC Action Fund

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

The Sikh Coalition

UltraViolet

Union for Reform Judaism

United Church of Christ

Wallingford Indivisible

Yemeni American Merchants Association

###