THE MUSLIM BAN IN THE USA

by: alexandra yun

Four years ago, on January 27, 2017, President Trump signed the Executive Order that banned foreign nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries. After it was announced, outrage arose through social media which led to some protests happening. Airports were the main area of protest in Boston, New York, and Los Angeles. 

​President Biden proclaimed on his first day of office that he would be reversing the executive order signed by President Trump that banned immigrants requesting to come to the U.S. from majority Muslim countries. On March 8, 2021, the State Department announced that those who were denied entry to the USA would be able to resubmit their application. 

Though the majority of Americans are accepting of the slight reversal, others say it’s not enough for them.  

Iman Awad, deputy director of Emgage Action, a Muslim advocacy group in Washington D.C., spoke on NPR  about how more needs to be done in order to combat what President Trump put into place. 

“The Muslim communities are thrilled that he upheld his promise to our community, but we need to recognize that more needs to be done, specifically through congressional action, to ensure that no future administration can abuse the presidential authorities we saw Donald Trump abuse,” Awad stated.

For Awad, she appreciates the commitment that President Biden had in reversing the order as quickly as possible, but expressed how just allowing people to restart a process isn’t enough; putting a no ban act would be beneficial. 

“We would like to see the passage in both the House and the Senate of the NO BAN Act, which would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act. Specifically, Code 212(f) was the authority used by Donald Trump to institute the Muslim ban. And we need to see Congress pass the NO BAN Act, amend the language in the Immigration and Nationality Act and provide better oversight and accountability moving forward,” said Awad. 

The Executive Order went through many revisions as it was getting appealed in courts all over the United States, but it remained intact throughout President Trump’s presidency. Appeals were written. 

Time will show the American people and the world if President Biden will reverse Trump’s orders and put in place an act that doesn’t allow discrimination based on where your from.