Joe Biden. Photo: Shutterstock
Speaking to attendees at the Million Muslim Votes Summit on Monday, former Vice President Joe Biden pledged that his first order of business if elected into office would be to end President Trump‘s Muslim ban.
“I will end the Muslim ban on day one,” he said. “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.” Organized by the nation’s largest Muslim-American Political Action Committee (PAC), Emgage Action took to Twitter following the conference saying they “will make history again and take back the White House” in November.
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Noting that Muslim communities “were the first to feel Donald Trump’s assault on black and brown people,” Biden expressed empathy for the “constant pressure, insults, and attacks,” minorities across the country have incurred on account of the present administration. “Donald Trump has fanned the flames of hate in this country across the board, through his words, his policies, his appointments, and his deeds,” said Biden, pointing to a rise in reported hate crimes over the past three years and the recently announced Trump appointees who have openly expressed Islamophobic views.
An executive order signed by Trump in 2017, the Muslim ban initially prohibited foreign nationals from seven predominantly Muslim countries from visiting the United States for 90 days, in addition to suspending entry for all Syrian refugees indefinitely. Implemented shortly after the signing, the order quickly created chaos at airports around the world leading to myriad lawsuits being filed in opposition. Following disapproval from federal judges across the country, the ban was met with a number of injunctions and class-actions, leading to its ultimate rejection. Months later, Trump signed a new order, and after it was met with more legal action, a final version of the order came to fruition in September 2017. Upheld by the Supreme Court, this order remains in place today.
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