Congressman Neguse Passes Amendment Out of the Judiciary Committee to Repeal Trump’s African Ban
Washington D.C.—Today in the House Judiciary Committee’s markup of the NO BAN Act, Congressman Joe Neguse, who serves as the only Eritrean American in Congress, introduced an amendment to include President Trump’s latest African and Muslim ban in the bill. The latest Muslim and African travel ban, announced in late January, is set to ban refugees from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania. Under the latest ban, citizens from Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan won’t be allowed to apply for visas to immigrate to the U.S. under the policy, while citizens from Sudan and Tanzania will be barred from participating in the diversity visa lottery, which offers green cards to people in countries with low levels of immigration to the U.S., as part of a program that President Trump has sought to end.
“Each version of President Trump’s travel ban runs counter to our American values, counter to our nation’s founding, and counter to our morality and humanity,” said Congressman Joe Neguse. “More than fifty years ago, Congress eliminated country bans from immigration law, and it did so because those policies were undeniably discriminatory. Congress’s decision came after a long and shameful history of excluding foreign nationals based on where they came from. President Trump seems intent on revisiting this disgraceful period of our history. It is incredibly important that Congress preserve and promote the continued ideals of the United States as a land of immigrants. The first step in preserving that legacy is passing Rep. Judy Chu’s NO BAN Act. By passing this bill out of Committee, and eventually on the House Floor, we are affirming that the United States is still committed to fairness, nondiscrimination, and being a beacon of hope to the world.”
View the Congressman’s remarks in the House Judiciary Committee on the amendment here.
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 nearly 250 members of Congress; more than 400 civil rights, faith, national security, and community organizations; more than 50 immigration law professors; 19 state attorneys general; and several private companies.