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News release

Leading Moms Group Decries Expansion of Muslim Ban, Urges Congress to Quickly Pass the NO BAN Act

February 3, 2020
Immigration

Lisa Lederer, 202-371-1996

WASHINGTON, D.C. – MomsRising today denounced the Trump administration decision to add six countries to its Muslim ban. Due to this expansion, immigrant visas will no longer be available to people living in Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Nigeria, and people in Sudan and Tanzania will be excluded from the diversity visa program.

“This is a painful reminder that discrimination and cruelty are still guiding principles in President Trump’s immigration policy, and that his top priority is playing to his base, no matter the devastating hardship it causes,” said Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director and CEO of MomsRising, the online and on-the-ground organization of more than one million mothers and their families. “This will expand the harm caused by the Muslim ban, which has prevented Americans from being able to reunite with loved ones, caused patients to go without life-saving health care and young people to go without education, and denied children time with their parents and grandparents. The Muslim Ban undermines our national value of freedom of religion, and is racist and immoral – a family separation policy based on white supremacist, anti-immigrant views. It should be eliminated, not expanded.”

MomsRising has endorsed the National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act (“NO BAN Act”) – a civil rights bill that would end the Muslim Ban and amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religion, ensuring that no president can ever again ban an entire community without accountability. The U.S. House is expected to consider this bill (S.1123 / H.R.2214) sometime soon.

“We are profoundly concerned that this ban has already intensified bigotry, hatred and Islamophobia, and contributed to the increase in hate crimes against Muslims in our country and around the world,” said Xochitl Oseguera, national director of MamásConPoder.org and MomsRising “and that expanding it will expand its harmful impact. MomsRising and its members will continue to fight bigotry and discrimination in all their forms. Just as we are fighting tirelessly for asylum-seeking families that have been separated, we will fight back against politicians who advance bigotry in any way.”

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MomsRising.org is an on-the-ground and online grassroots organization of more than a million people who are working to increase family economic security, decrease discrimination against women and moms, and to build a nation where businesses and families can thrive. Established in 2006, MomsRising and its members are organizing and speaking out to improve public policy and to change the national dialogue on issues that are critically important to America’s families, including criminal justice reform, immigration policy reform, and gun safety. MomsRising is working for paid family and medical leave, affordable, high quality childcare and early learning, and for an end to the wage and hiring discrimination which penalizes women — particularly moms and women of color — and so many others. MomsRising advocates for access to healthy food for all kids, health care for all, earned sick days, and breastfeeding rights so that all children can have a healthy start. MomsRising maintains a Spanish language website: MamásConPoder.org. Sign up online at www.MomsRising.org — and follow us on our blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.