MUSLIM BAN ONE YEAR LATER

PRESS RELEASE

January 26, 2018

Muslim Ban One Year Later

This Saturday marks the one year anniversary of the Trump Administration’s Travel Ban (Muslim Ban 1.0) prohibiting immigrants, refugees, and visitors from seven Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Emgage Foundation remains as firmly opposed to this Islamophobic measure and all of its subsequent iterations as it did on that day.

Wa’el Alzayat, Emgage CEO, said: “By now we have all heard the racist and xenophobic rhetoric coming out of Trump’s mouth, which makes it clear that this order has little to do with keeping us safe and everything to do with his administration’s warped views on race and religion.”

At a campaign rally in South Carolina in 2015, Trump called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims from entering the country” and cited an unreliable poll, claiming that “there is great hatred towards Americans by large segments of the Muslim population.” Even Rudy Giuliani admitted after the first Travel Ban was signed that Trump had previously asked him about legally implementing a “Muslim ban.”

Alzayat continued: “We are a country of laws as well as a country of values and principles and we do not discriminate based on religion or national origin. Unfortunately, the basic tenets of our democracy seem to be lost on those creating immigration policy.”

After federal courts struck down the first two iterations of the ban, a third one (Muslim Ban 3.0) was signed and implemented. In an attempt to withstand scrutiny, the new ban added two countries — Venezuela and North Korea.

“Just like Muslim Ban 1.0 and 2.0, Muslim Ban 3.0 violates the First Amendment’s Establishment Clause, and we are committed to opposing it and ultimately overturning it,” Alzayat concluded.

Given the lack of any evidence linking continued immigration from the designated countries with reduced security at home, and the Ban’s inherent discriminatory nature, Emgage looks forward to it being struck down for good by the Supreme Court. In the meantime, we will continue to counter the hate and rising hate crimes that have been fueled by Trump’s words and actions.

Visit EmgageUSA.org and EmgageAction.org to learn more about how Muslim Americans are engaging politically to ensure that America continues to remain inclusive and tolerant for everyone.