January 31, 2020
For Immediate Release
Contact: Info@undocublack.or
Washington, DC - The Trump Administration today released a proclamation announcing an expansion of the Muslim Ban to include the following countries: Myanmar, Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan , Eritrea, Sudan and Tanzania. The restrictions on Myanmar, Nigeria, Kyrgyzstan and Eritrea include issuance of new immigrant visas. Meanwhile, the ban will exclude nationals from the countries of Sudan and Tanzania from eligibility for the diversity visa program. The aforementioned restrictions, which target those with intent to reside in the United States, will take effect February 22, 2020 according to DHS.
This is not the first time that the Trump Administration has targeted Black diaspora in general and nationals from African countries in particular. From the attacks on Temporary Protected Status (TPS) on Sudan in 2017, to the visa sanctions on Eritrea in the same year, the white house has been consistent with their hate for Black Muslims.
Since the first version of the Muslim Ban in 2017, we have seen an increase in the detention and deportion of nationals from the white house list, including Abdi, a Somali green card holder, father and husband, as well as many other Black Muslims who have been racially profiled and criminalized at our borders and airports across the country.
“One thing is true, the Muslim Ban like all immigration sanctions brought under this administration are wholly and fully irresponsible and unnecessary. Another thing is true, this country has a real problem with Blackness and any proximity to it.
The reasons keep changing about why it is that the Trump administration wants to keep Black and brown people out. And that's because there is no honest reason, except for racism and xenophobia. Behind these bans and visa sanctions are real people with real families — facing the pain and uncertainty that family separation brings.
The attack on African migration isn't a new tactic--from abruptly ending Temporary Protected Status, to the 2017 visa sanctions on Eritrea, and a 21% drop in Nigerians traveling to the US due to visa restrictions -- this expansion will be a continuation of Trump’s white supremacist agenda seeking to end the migration of Black and Brown people.”
#AfricanBan #MuslimBan” - Patrice S. Lawrence, Co-director, UndocuBlack Network
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