Chu, Jayapal bills ending Trump immigration/asylum bans clear U.S. House
Los Angeles — CHIRLA stands with our African and Muslim brothers and sisters to support U.S. Rep. Judy Chu’s “ban the bans” bill to end Trump’s current Muslim immigration ban and prohibit future blanket bans through stronger anti-discrimination measures.
The bill, with 219 co-sponsors in Congress, mitigates the horrific damage inflicted on thousands of refugee/immigrant families from predominantly Muslim and African countries when Trump enacted the Muslim, later African, ban in 2017. We appreciate our representatives who supported it in today’s historic floor vote.
We also applaud passage of U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s access-to-counsel bill, which gives immigrants the right to contact an attorney when DHS detains them at the border, especially when officials try to coerce them.
“The United States is today and has always been a country of immigrants,” said Apolonio Morales, CHIRLA’s director for external affairs. “Our vitality and resilience comes from the fact that, for generations, we have welcomed those whom other countries would persecute. These people deeply understand the meaning of our democratic protections and, with their stories, enrich our heritage.
“We also support access to counsel for immigrants detained as they try to enter the country. Immigrants’ due process rights often go out the window when DHS applies its distorted take on the Constitution. This bill helps guarantee their chances to seek representation and protects them from agents who try to talk them into signing away their rights.”
