(SEATTLE, WA, 01/31/20) – A coalition of local civil rights and advocacy organizations including CAIR Washington, Seattle Indivisible, International Rescue Committee (IRC) Seattle, MAPS-AMEN, OneAmerica, and Oxfam are publicly condemning the Trump administration’s latest expansion of the Muslim Ban.
The White House announced today an expansion of the ban that includes six new countries: Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tanzania. All the new countries are either Muslim-majority or have large Muslim populations and four of the six are African. The announcement comes days after the three-year anniversary of the initial ban – an executive order targeting seven Muslim-majority countries that was later overturned by the courts after it was declared unconstitutional (only to be revised and upheld in June 2018).
President Trump has spent much of his presidency railing against immigrants and refugees and catering to xenophobic fears. As a candidate, he called for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States” and promised to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexican border. As president, he’s repeatedly vilified immigrants, called asylum-seekers from South America “hoards” and an “invasion,” and infamously referred to some African countries (including Nigeria) using derogatory language.
“Unfortunately, what we’re seeing with this latest expansion of the Muslim Ban is the continuation of this administration’s xenophobic, white-supremacist, anti-immigrant agenda,” said CAIR Washington Executive Director Masih Fouladi. “It’s not by accident that all the newly added countries have high Muslim populations and that an overwhelming majority are African. This is about othering Muslims and people of color while reinforcing racist narratives about who is American and who is welcome here.”
Washington state is home to sizable Nigerian, Eritrean, Sudanese, and Rohingya (Myanmar) communities – the majority who live in the greater Seattle area. OneAmerica’s Executive Director Rich Stolz is worried that Trump’s latest Muslim Ban expansion will have a “disproportionate impact” on these communities:
“Tens of thousands of Americans have been separated from their loved ones already because of this administration’s racist ban,” said Stolz. “Adding these countries to the list is going to keep even more families apart; including so many families here in Washington state. It’s a painful reality and a totally unnecessary one.”
The coalition is calling on Washington state Congressional Representatives to support the NO BAN ACT, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi recently announced will be voted on in the coming weeks. The bill, officially known as the National Origin-Based Anti-discrimination for Nonimmigrants (NO BAN) Act, would repeal Trump’s travel ban and limit the president’s authority to issue such sweeping bans in the future. It would also strengthen existing prohibitions on religious discrimination with respect to visa applications guaranteed by the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
CAIR is America's largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
Media Contact:
Jessica Schreindl, CAIR Washington Media Coordinator, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.O: 206-367-4081, M: 208-290-0500
Available for media:
- CAIR Washington Executive Director Masih Fouladi
- Oxfam Advocacy Advisor Julia Fitzpatrick
- American Muslim Empowerment Network Executive Director Aneelah Afzali
COALITION PARTNERS STATEMENTS ON MUSLIM BAN EXPANSION:
“Unfortunately, what we’re seeing with this latest expansion of the Muslim Ban is the continuation of this administration’s xenophobic, white-supremacist, anti-immigrant agenda. It’s not by accident that all but one of the newly added countries have high Muslim populations and that a majority are African. This is about othering Muslims and people of color while reinforcing racist narratives about who is American and who is welcome here. We cannot allow this to become the norm in our country. As we work to inform community members of their rights in the coming days, we must continue to call on people of conscience to vote for policies that put people first in the 2020 primary and general elections .” - Masih Fouladi, CAIR Washington Executive Director
“Today is a sad day for America and the world. Out of fear, xenophobia, and outright racism we decided to abandon our values, our compassion, and our freedom. On the heels of International Holocaust Remembrance Day we continue to demonstrate we’ve learned nothing from history. Seattle Indivisible condemns Trump’s Muslim Ban in the harshest terms.” - Alex Fayer, Vice President of Seattle Indivisible
" The International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Seattle stands in solidarity with all those impacted by the expansion of this cruel policy. This ban has already harmed thousands of families across the U.S., including many of our friends and neighbors here in Washington. Instead of expanding the Ban, we should be ending it. That’s why the IRC supports the NO BAN Act, which will prevent such misguided policies from taking place again.” - Nicky Smith, Executive Director of the IRC in Seattle
“The Muslim Ban directly contradicts the value of religious freedom upon which our country was built, and the beautiful bi-partisan tradition we have had of welcoming immigrants and refugees. We don’t tell people how to pray in our country and we shouldn’t ban people based on their religion. We hope every single American who cares about our country’s core values speaks out against the Muslim Ban and its expansion, and supports the NO BAN Act (National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act) that will be introduced in Congress in the coming weeks to ensure that no president discriminates based on religion or nationality.” - Aneelah Afzali, Executive Director of MAPS-AMEN (American Muslim Empowerment Network).
“Tens of thousands of Americans have been separated from their loved ones already because of this administration’s racist ban. Adding these countries to the list is going to keep even more families apart; including so many families here in Washington state. It’s a painful reality and a totally unnecessary one.” - Rich Stolz, OneAmerica Executive Director
“Today’s expansion of the Muslim Ban marks yet another dark day in US history. It further isolates the US from the rest of the world and expands the suffering of American families who will be separated from their loved ones, including so many here in Washington state. At its core, the Muslim Ban is rooted in divisiveness, fearmongering, and hate. Oxfam stands with the individuals and communities who are impacted by these hateful and discriminatory policies. They do not reflect American values, as demonstrated by the thousands of people who protested at airports across the country, including thousands here in Seattle. We’ll continue to speak out against the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant, anti-refugee, anti-Muslim agenda.” - Julia Fitzpatrick, Oxfam America Advocacy Advisor.