The House on Wednesday voted largely on party lines to advance a bill that limits the president’s authority to issue travel bans on foreign nationals from entering the United States.
House Democrats introduced the bill, known as the National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act, as a response to former President Donald Trump’s 2017 travel ban that restricted entry for foreign nationals from several terror-prone countries. The initiative drew opposition from Democrats and activists, who dubbed the measure as a “Muslim ban” because Trump’s initial order largely named countries with a predominantly Muslim population.
The Trump administration has all along pushed back against such a characterization, arguing it was unfair and discriminatory as more than 40 Muslim-majority countries weren’t included in the ban, and that the ban was focused on national security rather than religion.
The order was modified several times to remove and include different countries in the action. The U. S. Supreme Court also upheld a version of the ban in a 7-2 decision in 2017.
On Wednesday, the bill for the NO BAN Act passed with a 218-208 vote, with all Democrats and one Republican voting to pass the bill. It will advance to the Senate for consideration.
This is the second time the bill has passed a Democrat-controlled House. In 2020, the Democrat measure also passed the House on partisan lines.
The purpose of the NO BAN Act, according to the sponsors of the bill, is to prohibit religious discrimination in immigration-related executive decisions unless that discrimination is allowed under law.
If the president determines a need to temporarily restrict entry of any foreign nationals, he or she must consult with the State Department to assess whether the restriction would address the specific threats to U. S. interests such as national security or public safety, the bill summary states.
The bill also sets out guidelines for crafting such restrictions, including requiring a “compelling” reason for the government to intervene and to ensure that any bans are narrowly applied in the least restrictive manner.
The State Department and Department of Homeland Security must also inform Congress about any proposed restrictions 48 hours before it is imposed.
The law also provides a legal cause of action to allow individuals in America to sue in a federal court if they are harmed by the restriction.
“The NO BAN Act strengthens the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion. And it restores the separation of powers by limiting overly broad executive action to [issue] future religious bans, which are fundamentally un-American,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on the chamber floor in support of the bill.
Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), the main sponsor of the bill, in her speech on Wednesday criticized ... (Read more)
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