Washington, D.C. — On the very week that yet another federal court issued a resounding and stinging order rejecting President Donald Trump’s Muslim ban as “drip[ping] with religious intolerance, animus, and discrimination,” data published by the State Department reflects that the Muslim ban is nevertheless achieving its purpose: Nonimmigrant visas issued to people from 50 Muslim-majority countries have fallen by nearly 20 percent, and visas issued to nationals from the six countries specifically named in the blocked executive order have dropped by a staggering 55 percent. Tom Jawetz, Vice President of Immigration Policy at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement reacting to the news:
Despite multiple injunctions that have prevented the original ban and its replacement from ever being implemented, we are deeply concerned that the discriminatory ban is nevertheless being carried out. We have observed a similar drop in refugee admissions caused by the Trump administration’s decision to essentially end new interviews and grind processing to a halt.
It is important that federal courts have stepped in to block these executive orders and defend our commitment to constitutional principles. But we cannot be blind to the fact that this administration, driven by intolerance and fueled by fear, will nevertheless attempt to work its will. A win in the courts means little to the refugees stranded abroad and the potential visitors from Muslim-majority countries who are now being denied visas or who are afraid or discouraged even to apply.
For more information or to speak to an expert on this topic, please contact Tanya Arditi at tarditi@americanprogress.org or 202.741.6258.
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