Following first congressional hearing on President's Muslim ban, Coons and Chu urge action on NO BAN Act

Statement

Today, following the first congressional hearing on President Trump's Muslim ban, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) and U.S. Congresswoman Judy Chu (D-Calif.) urged Congress to take action on the NO BAN Act, legislation they introduced to immediately end the President's Muslim ban and prevent another baseless, discriminatory ban from happening again. The hearing was jointly convened by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship and the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

"The President's Muslim ban is a moral stain on our country. It is a policy born out of hate and bigotry that continues to tear families apart," said Coons and Chu. "Today's hearing highlighted the stories of families across this country who have been separated for months or years -- American citizens who are not able to live with their spouses, children who will never know their grandparents, and families who cannot gather to grieve or to celebrate, because of this hateful policy that does not make us safer.

"The Supreme Court relied on the existence of waivers in upholding the ban, and there is now overwhelming evidence that the waiver process is a sham. As of March 31, roughly 95 percent of people who applied for a visa from a banned country did not receive a waiver.

"It is up to Congress to lead and right this wrong. We applaud Chairs Lofgren and Bera for holding this hearing. It is our hope that after hearing today's testimony, more of our colleagues will join us to provide greater protection from discrimination, reassert Congress's role in setting immigration policy, and bring relief to families who have been separated because of the ban. Passage of the NO BAN Act would put us on the right path."

The National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act repeals the three versions of President Trump's Muslim ban, strengthens the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion, and restores the separation of powers by limiting overly broad executive authority to issue future travel bans. The legislation is supported by over 200 members of Congress, more than 400 diverse civil rights, faith, and community organizations, more than 50 immigration law professors, states attorneys general, the tech community, and more.

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