US Congress passes first Muslim civil rights bill

Washington DC: On July 22, the US House of Representatives, also referred to as Congress, passed the BAN Act bill. It was the Muslim first civil rights bill introduced in American history, one that seeks to repeal all iterations of bans on asylum seekers and refugees entering the country.

In 2017, the US President Donald Trump who is up for re-election this fall, issued the Muslim Ban that prevented citizens and refugees of seven Muslim countries from (re)-entering the United States. This gave way to protests at airports all over the nation.

Five months after Trump expanded the ban, Congressional leaders like New Jersey Senator Cory Booker and California Congresswoman Judy Chu pushed for this bill.

A little more than a year after the Supreme Court upheld the ban in January 26, 2018, the Democrat-majority House started raising awareness for a legislative means to prevent the current or any future President from imposing such a discriminatory ban again. Then on September 24, 2019, the House held its first ever hearing about the rights of American Muslims where Michigan Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib stated that over 200 House members supported the bill.

Although for it to become a piece of legislation, it has to also pass through a predominantly Republican Senate — which seems unlikely.