Presumptive Democratic nominee for president Joe Biden vows to end President Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ on his first day in office.
“I will end the Muslim ban on day one. Day one. And I will work with Congress to pass hate crimes legislation like the Jabara-Heyer No Hate Act and the End Racial and Religious Profiling Act,” Biden told the participants of the Million Muslim Votes Summit, an online conference led by Emgage Action, the nation’s largest Muslim-American political group.
In 2017, one of Trump’s first orders as president was to halt the entry to the US of travelers from seven majority Muslim nations: Syria, Iran, Somalia, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, and Yemen, for 90 days. This led to chaos at airports worldwide as well as lawsuits against the ban.
Three versions
Federal judges barred the initial ban implemented by the Trump administration. Trump imposed a second ban that was also swiftly tied up in federal courts.
Meanwhile, the White House issued a third version of the ban in the fall of 2017. This version covered six majority Muslim countries and two non-majority Muslim countries. The Supreme Court recognized the constitutionality of the third ban the next year, and it is in effect to date.
Biden, discussing the Muslim ban on Monday, pointed out that Muslim communities “were the first to feel Donald Trump’s assault on black and brown people with his vile Muslim ban. That fight was the opening barrage in what has been nearly four years of constant pressure, insults and attacks” by Trump against minorities.
He mentioned the increase in reported hate crimes in the country over the past three years.
“Donald Trump has fanned the flames of hate in this country across the board,” said Biden, “through his words, his policies, his appointments and his deeds.”
Reelection campaigns
Meanwhile, Trump campaign spokeswoman Courtney Parella said that “President Trump understands that our faith is what unites us as a nation. He has and will continue to staunchly defend religious freedoms for all Americans.”
According to Real Clear Politics’ polling average, Biden is leading Trump by an average of 8.6 points in national polls. While polling of Muslims remains limited, a 2018 Pew Research survey showed that only 13% of American Muslims identified as Republicans.
Trump has reportedly shown little interest in reaching out to groups that have not typically supported him in his reelection campaign.
“He’s making a mockery of what we stand for,” Biden said of Trump. “We can do something about it. I’m here today to ask you to join me in the fight to rip this poison from the government root and stem, or as the famous case said, root and branch.”
