WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee, U.S. Representative Judy Chu (CA-27), U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and U.S. Representative Joe Neguse (CO-2) on Tuesday introduced bicameral legislation that would block the implementation of President Trump’s recent executive order expanding travel restricts for Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Eritrea, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania. The legislation would prohibit funds, resources, and fees made available to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, or any other federal agency from being used to implement or enforce the expanded Muslim ban. U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) is an original co-sponsor of the legislation.

“President Trump’s Muslim ban is a betrayal of who we are as a nation. This racist, discriminatory policy violates the very foundational ideals of our nation, and we are less safe as a country when we try to pretend that we have something to fear from people based on their religion or ethnicity, said Murphy. “I won’t give up until Trump’s ban is repealed, and that’s exactly what this bill seeks to do.”

“The Muslim Ban in every form has been a vehicle for discrimination. It does not make America safer, but it does keep families apart. The hateful intentions were clear from the start when candidate Trump announced his intentions to ban all Muslims from entering the US.  And now we see him expanding his bans in order to do so. America’s vetting system is one of the best in the world, which means we do not need a ban to keep threats out of the country. And we have nothing to fear from keeping families together. That is why I’m proud to introduce this bill to stop this latest version of President Trump’s Muslim Ban,” said Chu.  

“President Trump’s expanded travel ban is just his latest attempt to block immigrants from legally entering the country, this time targeting four African countries, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan, all of which have huge Muslim populations. Racial and religious bias have no place in our immigration system. This bill would uphold American values by blocking this discriminatory policy from taking effect,” said Feinstein.

“America is a nation of immigrants, and for centuries we have fulfilled our promise as a safe haven for refugees seeking shelter and as a beacon of hope for immigrants around the world.  The Trump Administration, however, is working to dismantle America’s legacy as a nation of immigrants, evidenced most recently by the reckless and unconscionable travel ban on African countries. I’m proud to join Senator Murphy, Senator Feinstein and Representative Chu to introduce legislation today that will ensure no federal funding can be used to fund this reckless ban or extend this Administration’s haphazard and cruel immigration policy,” said Neguse.

Murphy, Feinstein, and Neguse are also cosponsors of Coon’s and Chu’s National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act, which makes changes to the Immigration and Nationality Act to prevent future discriminatory bans.

Organizations endorsing the bill include: African Communities Together, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Muslim Advocates, National Immigration Law Center (NILC), Amnesty International USA, Council on American- Islamic Relations (CAIR), HIAS, Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA), NAFSA: Association of International Educators, National Council of Jewish Women, Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC).

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