League Urges Support for the NO BAN Act

The League joined coalition partners in supporting H.R. 2214, the NO BAN Act when it came to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives on March 11, 2020.

The legislation would repeal President Trump's Muslim ban, asylum ban, and refugee band and make necessary reforms to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to prevent future discriminatory bans.

March 4, 2020

Re: NO BAN Act, H.R. 2214

Dear Representative:

As civil rights and liberties organizations, immigration organizations, human rights organizations, and community-based organizations committed to protecting the rights of Muslim, African, Arab, Iranian, Middle Eastern, and South Asian communities, we write to reiterate our support of the NO BAN Act (H.R. 2214) and the need for this bill as reported out of committee to not undergo additional changes when it receives a floor vote.

It is essential that the legislation remain intact—without any further changes—so this authority cannot be used to ban whole communities in order to protect all communities against discrimination. We strongly urge you to pass the NO BAN Act in its current form and vote against any amendments or motions to recommit.

This critical legislation would repeal President Trump’s Muslim ban, asylum ban, and refugee ban, and make necessary reforms to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to prevent future discriminatory bans. During the markup, the bill was amended to rescind the President’s recently expanded Muslim ban, targeting more Africans, and require reporting related to this ban, which was issued on January 31, 2020 and is now in effect. The language in this bill went through numerous negotiations, including during the House Judiciary Committee markup, to ensure that it would continue to meaningfully protect the rights of impacted communities.

As written, the NO BAN Act would:

• Immediately rescind the Muslim ban and the expanded ban, asylum ban, and refugee ban, ending these discriminatory policies and abuses of authority by the Trump administration.
• Require the executive branch to meet a more stringent and reasonable standard before issuing future bans. Under current law, the executive branch claims the authority to bar the entry of large groups of people, including entire nationalities, without effective accountability or regard for the policies codified in other parts of the INA. Rather than the current broad and undefined standard, the NO BAN Act would require the executive branch to meet a standard based on “specific and credible facts” that any suspension of or restriction from entry must be connected to “specific acts” that have actually occurred. Furthermore, the bill requires that any such suspension or restriction meet a compelling government interest and that the government use the least restrictive means in doing so.
• Establish a system of checks and balances whereby Congress would be routinely notified and briefed on the status, implementation and constitutional and legislative authority of the executive branch’s actions.
• Expand the non-discrimination provision of the INA by prohibiting discrimination based on religion.

This bill is a significant step forward for Muslim communities as well as other communities that could be targeted discriminatorily. Indeed, the Trump administration continues to abuse its authority under INA 212(f) to discriminate against people. In addition to the expanded ban, the administration also issued a ban on people who cannot prove they will be able to have certain types of health insurance soon after their arrival to the United States. Ensuring that the NO BAN Act maintains its current language, with the above provisions, and the repeal of similar bans remains a high priority for our organizations.

Thank you for your leadership on this bill. We strongly urge you to pass the NO BAN Act in its current form and vote against any amendments or motions to recommit. We look forward to working with your offices to ensure that this legislation is advanced in its current form in order to protect all people against discriminatory bans.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Avideh Moussavian ([email protected]) and Manar Waheed ([email protected]).

Sincerely,
National Organizations

ACCESS
Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE)
African Communities Together
African Immigrant Caucus
African Heritage Alliance
America's Voice
American Association of People with Disabilities
American Civil Liberties Union
American Federation of Teachers
American Friends Service Committee
American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA)
American Muslim Empowerment Network
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)
Amnesty International USA
Arab American Institute
Asian Americans Advancing Justice
Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF)
Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, AFL-CIO
Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Bend the Arc Jewish Action
Black LGBTQ Migrant Project
Border Angels
Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
Cameroon American Council
Center for American Progress
Center for Justice & Accountability
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Center for Popular Democracy
Center for Victims of Torture
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Church World Service
Coalition on Human Needs
Coalition for Civil Freedoms
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Daily Kos
Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul USA
Defending Rights & Dissent
Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund
Disciples Peace Fellowship
Emgage Action
Equality Labs
Families Belong Together (FBT)
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Fight for the Future
Franciscan Action Network
Friends Committee on National Legislation
GABA
Global African Business Association
HIAS
Hispanic Federation
Human Rights Campaign
Human Rights First
Human Rights Watch
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Indivisible
International Refugee Assistance Project
International Rescue Committee
Japanese American Citizens League
Just Futures Law
Justice Strategies
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
League of Women Voters of the United States
Legal Aid at Work
Libyan American Alliance
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
MomsRising
MoveOn
MPower Change
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
Myanmar Gazette
NAACP
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
National Action Network
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF)
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Council of Jewish Women
National Disability Rights Network
National Education Association
National Employment Lawyers Association
National Immigrant Justice Center
National Immigration Law Center (NILC)
National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC)
National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund
National Partnership for New Americans
National Religious Campaign Against Torture
National Union of Healthcare Workers
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
Network of Myanmar American Association
New American Leaders Action Fund
NIAC Action
Nicaragua Center for Community Action
OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates
Order of Lutheran Franciscans
Oxfam America
People For the American Way
Poder Latinx
Poligon Education Fund
Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans
RAICES
Refugees International
Restore The Fourth
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
SFLCLAA
Shoulder to Shoulder
Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Communities
Sisters of St. Francis of the Providence of God
Sojourners
South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center
Southern Border Communities Coalition
SPLC Action Fund
T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
The Advocates for Human Rights
The Sikh Coalition
Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International (TASSC)
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
UndocuBlack Network
UnidosUS
Union for Reform Judaism
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
United We Dream
Veterans For Peace
Voices for Progress
Win Without War
State and Local Organizations
African Leaders Council
Arab American Civic Council
Asian American Organizing Project
Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center
Asian Services in Action, Inc. (ASIA, Inc.)
Austin Sanctuary Network
BBSF- Beyond Borders Sin Frontera of First Parish Cambridge MA
Bethany Baptist Church
Burmese Rohingya Community of Wisconsin
CAIR Alabama
CAIR Cincinnati
CAIR Florida
CAIR Greater Los Angeles Area (CAIR-LA)
CAIR Houston
CAIR New York
CAIR Oklahoma
CAIR Sacramento Valley / Central California
CAIR San Diego
CAIR San Francisco Bay Area
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Sanctuary Campaign
CamOrlando
Casa Latina
Central Washington Justice For Our Neighbors
Cleveland Jobs with Justice
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)
CPC - Chinese-American Planning Council
DC-MD Justice For Our Neighbors
East Bay Community Law Center
Equality California
Franciscan Peace Center
Friends of Human Rights
Greater Cleveland Immigrant Support Network
H-CAN Immigration and Refugee group
Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project
Immigrant Legal Defense
Indivisible CLE
Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center
InterReligious Task Force On Central America and Colombia
ISLA
Justice for Muslims Collective
Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Commission of the Sisters of Saint Francis
KIWA (Koreatown Immigrant Workers Alliance)
La Raza Centro Legal
Legal Aid Justice Center
Lorain Ohio Immigrant Rights Assoc.
Migrant Center for Human Rights
Montgomery County Civil Rights Coalition
Muslim Justice League
New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice
New Mexico Immigrant Law Center
New York Immigration Coalition
Northwest Immigrant Rights Project
OneAmerica
OneJustice
Open Immigration Legal Services
Organization (as it should be listed on the letter)
Pangea Legal Services
Pennsylvania Immigration and Citizenship Coalition
Plenpovo Law, PLLC
Priority Africa Network
RefugeeOne
Rising Voices of Asian American Families
San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium
Silver State Equality-Nevada
SIREN
Sonoma Immigrant Services
Still Waters Anti-Trafficking Program
Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition
The Community Church of Boston
Transformations CDC
UU's for Justice in the Mid-East (MA)
WA Immigrant Solidarity Network (WAISN)
Wellstone Democratic renewal Club
Yemeni American Merchants Association (YAMA)