PANA Condemns Expansion of Trump’s Muslim Ban

PRESS STATEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 31, 2020

Contact: Geneviéve Jones-Wright  619.363.7382 Genevieve@panasd.org

SAN DIEGO –  Three years after Trump’s first iteration of his xenophobic and Islamophobic Muslim Travel Ban, the Trump Administration announced today that they have expanded the ban to include six additional countries — Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania. Under the ban, immigrant visas will no longer be available to nationals from Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, and Nigeria, and nationals from Sudan and Tanzania will no longer be permitted to participate in the diversity visa program.

Just like the Ban that came before today’s expansion, some of the newly banned countries are not Muslim-majority, yet this new ban will impact Muslims the most. This is an expansion of Trump’s racist Muslim Ban, and the cruel intent behind it cannot be hidden or changed. This administration’s clear intent all along has been to keep out as many people from Muslim-majority countries as possible, whether as refugees or based on their nationality.  Trump’s Ban is deeply rooted in bigotry, xenophobia, white nationalism, racism, and of course Islamophobia. His Muslim Ban coupled with his Public Charge rule serves to create a certain class and race of people who can come to the U.S. and prevent the entry of people of color and Muslims.

Half of the countries (Eritrea, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania) included in the expansion are African countries that will be impacted the most. For example, this expansion of the ban will disproportionately affect Nigeria, the largest African country by population. In 2018, the US granted Nigerians almost 14,000 green cards and 222,000 temporary visas. By comparison, nationals from other countries on the list were granted a combined total of fewer than 6,000 green cards and 28,000 temporary visas. It is also no coincidence that Nigeria has the largest Muslim population in sub-Saharan Africa.

“Let’s remember that before our highest court sanctioned deeply rooted racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia with its approval of Trump’s Muslim Ban, it shamefully upheld Japanese internment camps in Korematsu v. U.S. and the idea that people of African descent in America were not entitled to basic human dignity in its infamous Dred Scott decision. The bigotry of the U.S. Supreme Court and latest iteration of Trump’s Muslim Ban remind us, that we — the real Americans who fight daily for our country’s soul — must continue to fight against white nationalism, racism, xenophobia, and Islamophobia in our communities, in our courts, and in our governments. We cannot be silent or silenced,” says Geneviéve Jones-Wright, Legal Director of PANA.

PANA strongly opposes the Muslim ban in any form. We also call on Congress to take immediate action and pass the NO BAN Act, which would ensure that no one is banned from our country based on religion or nationality.  “The culmination of the President’s Executive Orders has resulted in separating countless families from their loved ones and denying visas for those most in need of safety and security based solely on their countries of origin. More than ever, we call on Congress to act now to reunite these families”.” states Homayra Yusufi, Deputy Director at PANA. 

PANA will continue to fight for the dignity and respect of all persons, regardless of their religion or national origin. 

###

Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA) is a research, community organizing, and public policy hub dedicated to advancing the full economic, social, and civic inclusion of refugees and Muslims in the region.