US lawmakers introduce bill to end Trump's 'Muslim ban'

By Michael Hernandez </p> <p>WASHINGTON (AA) – U.S. Senator Chris Coons and congresswoman Judy Chu introduced legislation Wednesday to end President Donald Trump's ban on immigration from five Muslim-majority countries. </p> <p>The No Ban Act expands anti-discrimination immigration protections, explicitly adding religion to the Immigration &amp; Nationality Act’s protections, and curtails the presidential authority to issue blanket restrictions.</p> <p>It is unclear when the companion bills will be taken up in the House and Senate, but Coons said it is aimed at preventing the president and future presidents from instituting a religion-based ban. </p> <p>&quot;It is time we band together to elevate a solution and to right this wrong,&quot; Coons said outside of the Capitol building. &quot;We are clear-eyed this policy was not rooted in facts. It was not put forward to actually make us safer. It was rooted in hate.&quot;</p> <p>The White House has argued the ban is necessary to protect national security, and the Supreme Court narrowly upheld it in a 5-4 ruling last June. </p> <p>That version was Trump's third iteration of the ban, which bars people from five Muslim-majority countries, North Korea, and some Venezuela officials from entering the U.S.</p> <p>Nearly 400 groups from a broad spectrum of backgrounds, including national security, community and faith-based organizations, threw their support behind the No Ban Act act in a joint letter to Congress, urging lawmakers' support. </p> <p>&quot;We urge you to support this important legislation because your leadership on this issue is critical to ensuring that Congress sends a strong message to the American people that how someone prays should not dictate whether the government can ban them from coming to the United States,&quot; they wrote.