[Editor’s note: The following statement was released today by the JACL Executive Director David Inoue and Public Affairs VP Sarah Baker]
WASHINGTON — Today the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2486, the National Origin-Based Anti-Discrimination Act, or NO BAN Act that was first introduced by Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) in April 2019. The passing of this historic bill would put an end to the administration’s Muslim ban and prevent future bans that discriminate on the basis of religion. It would repeal the asylum ban and remove the additional restrictions on refugees.The passage of the NO BAN Act serves as a direct repudiation of the racist immigration policies of this administration.
In 2017, JACL submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court in opposition of the Muslim ban, citing that the xenophobic rationale for the ban mimics the case that was made for mass incarceration of Japanese Americans in World War II. Throughout history minority communities have been branded as threats to national security and subsequently discriminated upon through laws that separate families and further make these communities targets of hate. This legislation will correct the error when the Supreme Court upheld the Muslim Ban on the same faulty logic with which the Korematsu case was wrongfully decided.
We now call upon the Senate to pass Sen. Chris Coons’ (D-Del.) companion bill and establish that we as a nation do not and will not discriminate on the basis of religion.
