San Diego Muslims denounce potential expansion of Trump Muslim Ban on the third anniversary of the Ban

Muslim Leadership Council supports Congressional bill to repeal the ban altogether

January 27, 2020

The Muslim Leadership Council of San Diego (www.mlcsd.org) , an umbrella organization representing over 25 Muslim organizations based in San Diego today denounced a potential expansion to the Trump administration’s Muslim ban covering seven mostly Muslim-majority countries in addition to the seven countries leaked to be added to the existing Muslim Ban. These additional countries are Nigeria, Sudan, Tanzania and Eritrea, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan. As we remember the three-year anniversary of this hateful Executive order that tore families apart, we sit with the fear that more countries will be added.

Although no expansion has been formally announced, there have been indications from the administration that an expansion is on its way. This continuous threat to vulnerable communities and the policies that accompany them serve to only further separate families and loved ones. MLC joins a chorus of community organizations and allies who are advocating for the passage of the National Origin Based Anti-discrimination for Non-immigrants (NO BAN) Act. This Bill would limit Presidential power to impose travel restrictions on citizens from other countries entering the US in a discriminatory fashion.

The list of countries in the administration’s black list are majority Muslim and/or African countries. This is consistent with President Trump’s stated aversion to immigrants from Africa. Make no mistake, any form or expansion of the Muslim Ban is as racist and discriminatory against a broad spectrum of community as it’s first iteration. Although the Supreme Court upheld the administration’s travel ban in 2018,after a long circuitous route through multiple legal challenges in courts across the nation, the argument that the travel ban is intended to bolster national security is as dubious now as it was the first time it was announced on this day three years ago.

“The brazenness of the administration’s racism is matched only by the deep rooted malaise of Islamophobia that Mr. Trump and several senior leaders in the administration exhibit,” said Mr. Ghouse Mohammed, Chairman of the MLC Board. “This cannot and will not go unchallenged,” added Mr. Mohammed.“The current travel ban and its potential extension betrays our nation’s deepest held values, and represent regressive measures likely to exacerbate racial inequities that continue to plague our system while achieving nothing in enhancing our security,” said Dr. Saad Eldegwy, an Imam and board member of MLC.

A possible extension of the travel ban will further limit our country’s ability to attract top talent from across the world, increase hardship for legal immigrants and prevent Americans from reuniting with their family members.The Muslim Leadership Council has pledged to work with allies in civil rights and the interfaith movement to support the passage for the NO BAN Act and to continue to advocate against racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia.

The constituent organizations of the Muslim Leadership Council of San Diego are as follows: Islamic Center of San Diego, Muslim American Society San Diegochapter, Council on American-Islamic Relations-San Diego chapter, Somali Family Services, Masjid Taqwa, Muslim Community Center of San Diego, Islamic Center of Eastlake, Islamic Community Center, Muslim Community Services of San Diego, We Love Our Neighbors, IQRAA Academy of San Diego, Masjid As Salaam, North County Islamic Foundation, Pillars of The Community San Diego, Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans, ICNA Relief, Latina Muslim Foundation, PAASAND, Huda Community Center, United Women of East Africa, Masjid Al-Ittehad.

CONTACT:Muslim Leadership Council of San Diego

Phone: 858-247-2396

Email: info@mlcsd.org

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/mlcsd/