The House Wednesday passed legislation to restrict President Trump’s authority to impose blanket travel restrictions and to repeal all iterations of his so-called “Muslim ban.”
The No Ban Act, which has been in the works for months, is the Democrats’ response to Trump’s crackdown on Muslims entering the United States that he pledged during the 2016 campaign and that materialized into various travel bans on countries in Muslim-majority regions and beyond. Democrats rebuked the travel ban as xenophobic and a shameful stain on America’s reputation as a beacon for religious tolerance and inclusion.
The repeal legislation passed 233-183. But the victory will be short-lived as the Senate has no plans to take it up and Trump would surely veto the check on his authority.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., joyfully presided over the vote in the House and started clapping after she announced the final tally in the chamber. She and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., made history in 2018 by becoming the first two Muslim women elected to the U.S. House and have routinely spoken out against Trump’s policies.
“I couldn’t help but celebrate,” Tlaib tweeted. “The smile under the mask was huge.”
Tlaib also posted a picture of the final floor vote tally with the caption: “Framing this!
Critics of the legislation claim stripping away the travel authorities from the president would make America less safe and they derided the bill as a political jab at Trump.
“This is not about a policy,” said Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga. “This is about a person.”
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The House originally had planned to pass the “No Ban Act” in March, but pulled the bill from the floor to focus on the government response to coronavirus pandemic. The legislation was authored by Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif.
The first iteration of the travel ban was signed into law by executive order soon after the president took office in 2017 and included Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen. The ban was expanded earlier this year to include Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania.
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“In January 2017, President Trump issued the first Muslim ban, a xenophobic policy that has inflicted irreparable harm on Muslims here at home and around the world,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.
She called the repeal legislation groundbreaking. “Today is historic, as the No Ban Act is the first bill to pass the House that directly addresses Muslim civil rights,” Jayapal said.
