FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 20th, 2021
Contact: bethelhem@undocublack.org
President Biden revokes the Muslim Ban, reversing the Executive Order issued by former President Trump.
Washington D.C. -- Today, the first day of Joe Biden’s presidency, the Muslim/African Ban was reversed by way of executive order as quickly as it was put in place. One of the first of many anti-Black and Islamophobic policies from the Trump Adminstration, the Muslim/African Ban has separated hundreds of members of our community from their loved ones based solely on their country of origin since 2017. With the stroke of a pen, President Biden reversed the discriminatory policies.
The Executive Order signed tonight requires that within the next 45 days, the Secretary of State is to ensure that the Ban is no longer being implemented at embassies and consulates within the United States or abroad. Additionally, a report is also due in the next 120 days on the extreme vetting processes enforced under the Trump Administration including surveillance, assessment of the social media of individuals impacted by the Muslim/African Ban for the purposes of restricting their entry in the United States.
Background
The first Muslim Ban was successfully halted by multiple federal courts. A second iteration was similarly stayed by federal courts. The third and most recent iteration of the Muslim Ban, Muslim Ban 3.0, has been in effect since December 2017.
On January 31, 2020, the Trump Administration expanded its Muslim ban, by targeting more Black and brown people and extending it to six additional countries. Muslim Ban 3.0, which originally banned people from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, North Korea, and Venezuela, now targeted more Africans. The expansion of Muslim Ban 3.0 included people from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Myanmar (Burma), Tanzania, and Sudan. This last expansion of the Ban is commonly referred to as the Muslim/African Ban.
Many African nationals are all too familiar with the cruelty of the Muslim/African ban. As of 2017, out of twelve of the countries with the highest visa rejection rates— seven of those were African countries. For decades African and South Asian countries have suffered retaliatory visa sanction formally and informally—with Mauritania, Gambia and Liberia in particular having refusal rates at over 69% percent.
Other visa sanctions implemented in and after 2017 remain in effect on Cambodia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Laos. These visa sanctions have facilitated an increase in detention and deportation of individuals originally from these targeted countries. The UndocuBlack Network together with the Advancement Project released findings from a Freedom of Information Act Request on the impact of these visa sanctions and their racist origins under the Trump Administration. Today’s presidential action did not reverse these bans.
Patrice Lawrence, co-director of the UndocuBlack Network said:
“The Muslim Ban /African Ban was never about national security, it was always rooted in hate and racism. After four years of community-led advocacy, Biden has rescinded the Ban. Restoration will never come for some, but for others the lifting of these travel sanctions means a new beginning in the United States. While we celebrate this moment of triumph, we must stay motivated in the fight against all formal and informal discriminatory bans. Congress must pass the NO BAN Act.
During this global pandemic families have been separated, lives have been lost and shattered, last goodbyes left unsaid—a cruel reality that our people that have been denied visas for years because of bans are all too familiar with. Irreparable harm has been done because of the cruel Muslim/African ban. Muslim/African people have faced dehumanization time and again with extreme and inappropriate vetting measures and surveillances by the Muslim/African Ban. Muslim and Black communities have been targeted at airports and embassies worldwide, detention and deportations from the United States escalated.
True justice is the repeal and prevention of all existing and future visa sanctions and the complete abolition of punitive measures that prevent the migration of Black and brown people to the United States. The journey continues.”
“Nisrin Elamin, a Sudanese immigrant who was detained under the Muslim/Afirca ban stated: “This is a great step in the right direction. I hope the Biden administration takes this as an opportunity to make a clean break with our history of policies that have dehumanized and criminalized immigrants of color for a very long time. Let’s build a new immigration system that treats people with dignity and respect regardless of where they are coming from.”
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