The United States House of Representatives voted 233-183 on Wednesday to pass legislation reversing President Donald Trump’s controversial order banning entry to immigrants from mostly Muslim-majority countries.
The bill, called the NO BAN Act, was broadly supported by Democratic legislators but is unlikely to advance in the Senate because of opposition from Republicans and the White House.
“There are today millions of Americans who, because of the Muslim ban, are separated from families and loved ones: parents who can’t be reunited, families who can’t be reunited, grandparents who are missing out on life events,” said Farhana Khera, executive director of Muslim Advocates, a group supporting the bill.
The bill expands anti-discrimination provisions in US immigration law and would limit the ability of US presidents in the future to bar entry based on religion.
Specifically, the bill would terminate Trump’s executive orders imposing a ban on immigration from mostly Muslim-majority countries. The president’s initial ban targeted Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, triggering criticism that it amounted to unlawful religious discrimination. Trump then expanded the ban to include Venezuela and North Korea, and later added Nigeria, Sudan, Myanmar and three other countries to the list.
In Wednesday’s debate, Democrats plan to share stories from dozens of their American constituents who have seen family members prevented from entering the US for arbitrary reasons under the ban. ❑
Al Jazeera
