Over three years after Donald Trump’s Muslim ban was enacted – and a year after he expanded the ban – the US House of Representatives finally passed the NO BAN Act on Wednesday, July 22 by a vote of 233-183, with two Republicans joining almost all House Democrats in support of the bill.

This is a key victory for civil libertarians and a long time coming. Defending Rights & Dissent has consistently and categorically condemned the ban and supported the NO BAN Act. The bill was introduced back in April of 2019 with the support of almost 400 organizations, as evidenced by this letter to Congress urging them to pass the NO BAN Act.

While the prospects for the NO BAN Act to even receive a vote in Mitch McConnell’s Senate are low, that shouldn’t diminish the profound rebuke that the House’s passage of this bill means to the president’s racist travel policy.

The NO BAN Act would repeal each version of Trump’s Muslim bans and prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion against those seeking entry to the U.S. The NO BAN act would restrict Trump’s – and any future president – ability to issue future such bans.

The Muslim ban was always a blatantly racist and xenophobic policy and is consistent with this administration’s long history of attacks on Muslims and communities of color, both here and abroad. When the president expanded the ban to include a handful of additional African countries, the Black Alliance for Just Immigration noted, “This Muslim Ban is now also an African Ban.”

We join our allies in celebrating this victory, and will continue to advocate for the Senate to do what’s right and pass the NO BAN Act.

Published by Defending Rights & Dissent.