Washington, D.C. — Today, President Joe Biden issued an executive order to repeal the previous administration’s attempt to ban entry for refugees and residents of several African and Muslim-majority countries. In response, Maggie Siddiqi, director of the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative at the Center for American Progress, issued the following statement:
The Biden administration has taken an important step in upholding our nation’s commitment to religious freedom by reversing the Muslim ban. For this to be one of President Biden’s first acts, in the first hours of his presidency, signals his intent to prioritize the freedom of all Americans to practice or not practice any religious tradition. The American government should never ban people from entering the country based on their faith. This executive order is a cause for celebration among all religious freedom advocates. Millions of families that were separated over these past four years will soon be reunited.
Reversing the Muslim ban is not the end of the story. Together with a broad coalition of advocates, we call on Congress to immediately pass the National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act and make sure that no president can ever again ban people from entering the country because of their faith or nationality. A bipartisan majority of the U.S. House of Representatives passed this important legislation in the 116th Congress, and President Biden included it in the comprehensive immigration bill he is sending to Congress today. The 117th Congress must now pass this legislation and make upholding religious freedom a bipartisan consensus.
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