January 26, 2023 



Dear President Biden, 


The undersigned immigrants' rights, civil rights and civil liberties, and community-based organizations are committed to protecting the rights of all people, including Muslim, African, Arab, Iranian, Middle Eastern, and South Asian communities. We write to urge you to provide relief to all who have been impacted by Trump's Muslim and African Bans that you rescinded on January 20, 2021. Directly impacted communities played a central role in fighting these discriminatory bans and courageously shared their experiences of family separation and the stigma of being marked as unwanted in this country to ensure that these bans would eventually be rescinded. We remain grateful to you for fulfilling your campaign promise of rescinding the bans on day one of your administration, and for acknowledging that they serve as a "stain on our national conscience." Without further action to provide relief beyond rescinding the bans, however, our communities continue to feel the immeasurable harms the bans have wrought since their inception. We have waited two years for your administration to take the appropriate steps to redress the harms, and now a federal court has directed your administration to create and implement a fair and effective visa reconsideration process for those denied visas because of the Muslim and African Bans. We urge you to take action immediately and comply with the spirit and letter of the court’s ruling. 


At the end of the Trump administration, the Muslim and African Bans barred certain nationals from Burma (Myanmar), Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, and Yemen from entering the United States.. It was a moment of triumph and relief to see the bans rescinded. This relief, however, has been short-lived, as most of the families and individuals impacted by the bans remain separated. Over 41,000 visa applicants from the banned countries were denied visas due to the Muslim and African Bans. While we cannot quantify the harm to the countless number of people who were deterred from ever applying for visas while the bans were in place, it is crucial that this administration fulfill its promise to right the wrongs of the Trump administration by providing relief to those who applied for but either never received or were denied visas that they otherwise would have qualified for had the unjust bans never been imposed. We urge you to take immediate steps to provide meaningful relief to those harmed by the bans. 


Following the United States District Court, Northern District of California, Aug. 1, 2022 order in the Pars Equality Center et al. v. Pompeo et al. and Emami, we ask the government to take the following steps to remedy the harms suffered by all applicants unjustly impacted by the Muslim Ban's unlawful waiver provisions:


Expeditiously establish a reconsideration process

  • The government should promptly identify and post to the Department of State’s website any updates that the government anticipates requiring from affected applicants.

  • The government should ensure that such updates do not effectively result in affected applicants being required to submit what amount to be new applications. 

  • The reconsideration process should be made operational within four months from receipt of this letter 

  • Applicants who seek reconsideration should receive a decision within sixty days of submitting the required updated information.

  • Applicants who were denied should be provided at least three years to seek reconsideration once the process is in place to seek reconsideration. 

The reconsideration process should be at no cost to applicants

  • The reconsideration process should not impose any undue costs, and applicants should not be required to attend in-person re-interviews or incur any additional costs when reapplying. 

  • The government should also reimburse travel expenses, where travel is necessary, for those rejected under PP 9645's unlawful waiver provisions.

Provide notice to affected applicants

  • The government should affirmatively notify all affected applicants of the opportunity to seek reconsideration and facilitate reapplication procedures for those affected applicants. The government should notify applicants of the reconsideration process within 4 months from receipt of this letter 

  • Notices must clearly advise affected applicants that they are eligible to seek reconsideration, and all notices should clearly state that the reconsideration process will be at no cost to them.

It has been two years since the rescission of the bans, we strongly urge you to take the steps outlined above to provide long overdue relief to the thousands who remain harmed by them.


Sincerely,


No Muslim Ban Ever Campaign 


18 Million Rising

AAAJ - Asian Law Caucus

African Communities Together

American Civil Liberties Union

American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)

American Muslim Advisory Council

American Muslim Bar Association

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)

Arab American Civic Council

Arab-American Family Support Center

Armenian-American Action Network 

Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC

Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP) 

CAIR California

CAIR Houston

CAIR-Chicago

Cair-Minnesota 

CAIR-Philadelphia

CAIR-WA

CAN

Center for Security, Race and Rights

Church World Service

Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA)

Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP)

Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)

DRUM - Desis Rising Up & Moving

Eden United Church of Christ

Emgage Action

Georgia Muslim Voter Project

Human Rights First 

ICNA Council for Social Justice

Immigration Hub

International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP)

Iranian American Bar Association

Islamic Society of North America (ISNA)

Islamophobia Studies Center

Jewish Voice for Peace

MPower Change Action Fund

Multifaith Alliance

Muslim Advocates 

Muslim Counterpublics Lab

Muslim Justice League

Muslim Power Building Project 

Muslim Public Affairs Council

Muslims for Just Futures

National Employment Law Project

National Immigrant Justice Center

National Immigration Law Center

National Immigration Project (NIPNLG)

National Iranian American Council

New York Immigration Coalition

No Separate Justice

North American Climate, Conservation and Environment (NACCE)

Pars Equality Center

Pennsylvania Council of Churches

Poligon Education Fund

Secure Justice

Services, Immigrant Rights, &  Education Network (SIREN)

Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign

South Asian Network 

The Advocates for Human Rights

Union of Arab American women 

United We Dream

University of California Student Association

Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights

Wind of the Spirit Immigrant Resource Center

Women Watch Afrika

Yemeni American Merchants Association