Nearly 100 Democrats Introduce Bill to Block Trump's Travel Ban
Trump's executive order rejecting the US's refugee programme to be reversed
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Almost 100 Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation on Wednesday to stop Donald Trump's ban on travel to the United States by people from countries connected to terrorism.
"Thousands of American citizens have been forced to live apart from their spouses; their lives put on hold. Thousands of children will not get to spend time with their grandparents," Senator Chris Coons said.
"Thousands of people have been denied the opportunity to either grieve the passing of a loved one or to celebrate a marriage or a birth."
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Trump promised to place a temporary ban on immigrants and refugees from specific Middle Eastern countries from entering the country.
In 2017, Trump signed an executive order rejecting the US's refugee programme and blocking travelers from several Muslim-majority countries.
During the ban, many travelers were detained at US airports, and travel disrupted.
Ilhan Omar promised to end, what she described as Trump's 'hateful Muslim ban.'
I ran on a promise to end the President’s hateful Muslim ban.
And tomorrow we will introduce a bill do just that. No one should be denied basic rights because of their religion, race or national origin. #NoBanAct
I ran on a promise to end the President’s hateful Muslim ban.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) April 9, 2019
And tomorrow we will introduce a bill do just that. No one should be denied basic rights because of their religion, race or national origin. #NoBanAct ✊🏽
WATCH: Sen. Coons discusses a bill he will introduce today that would prevent presidents from imposing religious bans on immigration like the Muslim ban, and he also discusses the Mueller report on @Morning_Joe. https://t.co/rwtovBCzEz
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) April 10, 2019
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According to The Hill:
Trump and the White House argue the travel ban is not a Muslim ban.
The policy prevents travelers from Iran, Libya, Syria, Somalia, and Yemen from entering the U.S., and the administration argues it is necessary to protect national security.
Trump's third executive order issuing the ban was upheld in a 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court last year.
The majority opinion, authored by Chief Justice John Roberts, said Trump was well within his authority to impose the ban based on the president's judgments about national security.
Roberts wrote that it was not the court's place to criticize or pass judgment on comments Trump made on the campaign trail about a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States" and that the executive order was neutral in not targeting travelers of a specific religion.
In a dissenting opinion, Justice Sonia Sotomayor lashed out at the court's majority, arguing Trump's comments targeting Muslims should have led the justices to strike down the ban.
Legislation introduced to overturn the ban is unlikely to become law with Trump in the White House and Republicans holding a majority in the Senate.
“This is not a bill that I expect to become law in this administration,” Coons acknowledged on MSNBC.
