Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) cosponsored legislation to repeal President Trump’s executive order blocking travel from thirteen majority Muslim and developing countries. The National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act repeals President Trump’s travel bans, 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.
“Cherry-picking who is allowed to enter the United States based on their religion, race, or wealth violates the principles etched on the Statue of Liberty. But that’s exactly what President Trump’s travel bans do; they unfairly limit who gets to be a part of the great American experiment. As the Administration attempts to expand its executive order to six new countries, Congress must stand up for American values and repeal this discriminatory policy once and for all.”
BACKGROUND:
The NO BAN Act seeks to combat the President’s travel ban by:
- Immediately rescinding each version of the travel ban, as well as abuses of power harming refugees and individuals seeking asylum;
- Amending the Immigration and Nationality Act’s nondiscrimination provision to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on religion and to apply all nondiscrimination protections to immigrant and nonimmigrant visas alike;
- Limiting the President’s overly broad authority to issue future bans by requiring suspensions and restrictions to be temporary, based on credible facts, narrowly tailored to a compelling interest, and circumscribed to the least restrictive means possible;
- Requiring the President to consult with the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security before restricting or suspending the entry of individuals, and increasing mandatory reporting requirements to Congress;
- Providing a presumption in favor of granting humanitarian and family-based waivers.
The legislation is supported by over 250 members of Congress, nearly 400 diverse civil rights, faith, national security and community organizations, as well as private companies and more than 50 immigration law professors.