OCA Supports the Passage of the Historic NO BAN Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

22 July 2020

Contact: Eiley Fong | Communications Associate
202.223.5500 | [email protected]
 

Washington, DC - Today, OCA - Asian Pacific American Advocates strongly backs the passage of the historic National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act. Introduced by Congresswoman Judy Chu last year, the NO BAN Act ends Trump’s 2017 Muslim Ban, prevents discrimination on basis of religion, and terminates asylum bans and refugee restrictions. The NO BAN Act is the first bill that protects Muslim civil rights to reach the House Floor and will be voted on today.

Under the false pretense of national security, the Muslim Ban bars nationals [of certain countries] entrance into the United States. There is no evidence of danger from these communities, yet the president’s enactment of the Muslim Ban perpetuates harmful stereotypes about Muslims and promotes Trump’s xenophobic agenda.

The NO BAN Act would rescind the president’s Muslim Ban, remedy the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) policies that allow the president to ban entire communities, and establishes accountability to stop any president from prohibiting immigrants on the basis of religious discrimination. This would end Muslim and African bans and set a precedent for religious liberties and rights.

In response to COVID-19, the NO BAN Act’s language was changed to address “communicable diseases.”  While the current version of this bill still promises progress for Muslim communities and other discriminated communities, the language creates a dangerous and untrue connection between immigrants and health risks. Despite these changes, OCA is still encouraging all House Members to pass the NO BAN Act today.

“The United States has an extensive history of using policies to inhumanely bar Jews, Catholics, Mormons, and Muslims from entering the country, many of which were rooted in both ethnic discrimination and untrue narratives about immigrants. In order to guarantee religious freedoms and to prohibit any further discriminatory abuses from the president, it is imperative that the House passes the NO BAN Act. OCA firmly supports the NO BAN Act,” says Rita Pin Ahrens, Executive Director of OCA. “We would also like to acknowledge the harmful language around disease in this bill and push for a revision in the near future.”

OCA – Asian Pacific American Advocates is a national civil rights organization dedicated to improving the social, political, and economic well-being of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).

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View this statement online here.