Expert Q+A with Yasmine Taeb: Trump’s Renewed Muslim Ban Is Part of a Broader Authoritarian Agenda
Q&A with Yasmine Taeb
MPower Change’s Political and Legislative Director
1. Your organization, MPower Action, registered and mobilized Muslim voters in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia – states with significant Muslim populations where Democrats won big on Tuesday. What were you hearing from Muslim voters about their motivations and concerns this election cycle? Do you have any sense of what the Muslim voter turnout was like this year?
We woke up yesterday to a great deal of excitement, particularly around Zohran Mamdani’s win, making him the first Muslim to serve as mayor of New York City. In Virginia, voters elected Ghazala Hashmi to serve as lieutenant governor, making her the first Muslim woman in U.S. history to win statewide office.
This election cycle, we heard a clear message from Muslim voters: people are deeply motivated by issues of justice, dignity, and accountability. Across New York, New Jersey, and Virginia, voters told us they want leaders who stand up for civil rights, challenge hateful rhetoric and discrimination, and prioritize affordable housing, education, and economic opportunity. Many also expressed concern about rising Islamophobia and the need for elected officials who truly represent the diversity of their constituencies.
As for turnout, while official data is still being analyzed, our on-the-ground teams and partners reported strong engagement—particularly among young Muslim voters and first-time voters. We saw high energy at community centers, mosques, and on campuses, where people understood the power of their vote to influence real change.
Overall, the momentum we witnessed reflects what we’ve been building for years: a confident, organized Muslim electorate that sees civic participation as both a right and a responsibility.
2. You helped pressure President Biden to rescind Trump's first Muslim Ban but now it's back. How do you hope to fight the ban this time around?
We’re seeing a lot of chaos, fear, and uncertainty because of this administration’s xenophobic, anti-immigrant, and anti-refugee policies. On the campaign trail, Trump vowed not only to reinstate the Muslim Ban that President Biden rescinded, but to expand it, and he has made good on that promise.
One way we are challenging this ban is by urging members of Congress to pass the NO BAN Act that was reintroduced by Sen. Chris Coons (D-CT) and Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) in February.. We’ve been mobilizing tens of thousands of our members to write to their reps in support of this legislation. The NO BAN Act limits executive overreach by preventing the president from abusing their authority to restrict the entry of non-citizens into the United States under section 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
We’re unfortunately not seeing the same level of pushback from lawmakers or from our communities against the latest travel ban. However, it’s important that we challenge the ban alongside other discriminatory immigration policies because it has upended the lives of thousands of people seeking to reunite with loved ones or to work and study in the United States, which only strengthens our communities here.
3. How is the current ban impacting your community? In what ways is it different this time?
The travel ban that Trump issued in June is far more expansive than the ones we dealt with during his first term, and it relies on the same sham racist national security rationale used to justify the first iteration of the Muslim Ban in 2017. This time, the Trump administration went even further by adding countries like Haiti and the Republic of the Congo, perpetuating a pattern of targeting Black and brown immigrants.
The State Department data shows that in fiscal year 2023, nationals from the 12 fully banned countries received over 112,000 visas, while those from so-called partially restricted countries received nearly 115,000 visas. The 19 affected countries represent more than 475 million people. These are staggering numbers and show the widespread harm of the ban.
4. How is the No Muslim Ban Ever campaign planning to challenge other anti-immigrant and anti-refugee policies, including ICE raids and detentions impacting Muslim communities?
We’re working hard to strengthen and expand our coalition of organizations and individuals who understand that what’s happening to immigrant communities is wrong and who want to do something about it. We’re working on highlighting the stories of those impacted by the travel ban so that Members of Congress can share the personal stories of their constituents on the House and Senate floors, and via public statements.
As we’ve seen, the Trump administration is advancing its authoritarian agenda through a cruel, inhumane, and unconstitutional crackdown on our rights. We’re in a constitutional crisis. Whether it's this new ban, through the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to unlawfully deport immigrants to El Salvador, termination of TPS for scores of communities, the South Sudan visa revocation, the termination of status of countless international students, and the targeting and abduction of international students and scholars advocating for Palestinian rights – we must all unite to push back against this authoritarian slide.