Congressional Democrats this week moved to prevent a repeat of the ban on travel from Muslim-majority countries that former President Donald Trump enacted during his administration.
Trump issued an executive order in January 2017 that banned travel from seven countries with a population that is mostly Muslim. The order was eventually modified to include North Korea and several other countries and it was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2018.
President Joe Biden rescinded the order in 2021, but Trump has iterated that he would bring the ban back if he wins the White House in November.
House and Senate Democrats, led by Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., are proposing a pair of bills known as The National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act, or NO BAN Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on religion under federal immigration law and would place restrictions on "overly broad executive authority" when it comes to travel bans.
"A hateful stain on our nation, Trump's Muslim ban was inspired by bigotry and Islamophobia and did lasting damage to the families it separated," Chu said in a statement, according to the Hill.
"I was so grateful when the Biden-Harris administration took action on its first day to rescind all versions of this ban, but we can't risk letting prejudice against Muslims, or any other religious minority, become policy once again."