In the wake of Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump’s threat to ban Muslim immigration, a group of House Democrats introduced legislation on Wednesday to restrict the United States from stopping someone’s entry into the country on the basis of their religion.
The Freedom of Religion Act seeks to “prohibit the use of religious litmus tests as a means to ban immigrants, refugees, and international visitors trying to enter the United States.”
Accompanied by supporters of the move, Representative Don Beyer, architect of the legislation, said on the Capitol Hill that religious freedom is enshrined in the American Constitution.
“We cannot allow fear and paranoia to drive our public policy, especially when it comes to the defining values of our country,”he said after the move in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives.
“Our Founding Fathers guaranteed religious freedom for all in the First Amendment to our Constitution. People all around the world look to us as the standard for freedom, liberty, and tolerance,” the Congressman added.
Photo Credit: Screenshot from the official vide
The introduction of the legislation coincides with Trump’s arrival in Washington, during which he will have a series of meetings including with House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has so far declined to back the billionaire tycoon as the Party’s candidate for November 8 election. After San Bernardino killings, Trump had proposed a “total” ban on Muslims entering the United States.
Beyer’s office said the move is a response to “political rhetoric vilifying select religious groups and increasingly hostile rhetoric toward religious freedom in the immigration system.”
Other main proponents of the Bill include Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Keith Ellison (MN), Joe Crowley (NY), Jan Schakowsky (IL), Mike Honda (CA), Betty McCollum (MN) and André Carson (ID).
According to ABC News, Republican Richard Hanna, has joined the group of more than 70 Democrats in supporting the bill. The New York, lawmaker has declared that he won’t support Trump even if the business tycoon secures the GOP nomination.
Virginia Congressman Beyer from Alexandria said “the first Americans often were refugees from religion oppression,” said Norton. “Many come today for the same reason. We betray our first principles when religion becomes a qualification for entry or exclusion from the United States.”
“Our country is built on religious tolerance and the freedom to worship. When presidential candidates talk about closing our borders to people of a certain faith, they aren’t just being prejudiced – they’re being un-American. This bill will uphold our core values by guaranteeing that religion isn’t used to decide who can enter the country. The inscription on the Statue of Liberty reads: ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” It doesn’t say anything about a person’s faith,” said Rep. Keith Ellison.
“This bill is about the very foundation our nation was built on, and that’s religious freedom,” said Rep. Crowley, Vice Chair of the Democratic Caucus. “Unfortunately, the rhetoric we’ve heard over the past year or so has not only greatly affected our national discourse, it has fanned the flames of hate and hurt innocent families. I’m proud to join Congressman Beyer and my colleagues on this legislation – we must ensure that the United States will continue to remain a model for religious tolerance and freedom.”
“As a nation of immigrants, we should welcome all who come to this country regardless of their religion or ethnic background,” said Rep. Schakowsky. “It is outrageous that many in this country are fanning the flames of hatred and intolerance by pushing for a religious test to enter the country. I am proud to stand with my colleagues today in supporting this legislation that will ban any attempt to prevent people from entering this country based on their religion. We are one nation, and we will only rise above the hatred spouted by terrorists abroad by staying united here at home.”
“I have been proud take our oath of office and promise to protect and defend the Constitution,” said Rep. Honda. “That Constitution makes it the mission of our nation to fully defend the right to freely practice religion. It is sad that, based on our current politics, that mission must be written into a new law, but as long as that step is needed, I will absolutely support that law.”
“As Americans, we take great pride in our Constitutional guarantee of religious freedom. It would insult that tradition to impose a religious test at our borders,” Congresswoman McCollum said. “I am proud to be an original co-sponsor of this bill, which ensures our country lives up to its best traditions of openness, tolerance, and religious freedom.”
“To turn our back on immigrants would be to betray our nation’s core values,” said Rep. Andre Carson. “Blocking immigrants because of their religion would send a demoralizing and dangerous message to the world that the United States is no longer a beacon of freedom. This critical legislation signals that the United States has always been, and will continue to be, a country that welcomes people of all races, ethnicities, and religions.”
“I’m proud to cosponsor Rep. Beyer’s bill, which makes clear that the United States does not discriminate based on religion. Regardless of what Donald Trump may think, barring members of a particular religious group from entering the country is unconstitutional and would never be supported by Congress or the courts. Like many before them, those seeking to come to our country are doing so because they want a better future for themselves and their children. I hope House Republicans will join with us as cosponsors of this bill to send a strong message of support for our Constitution and the freedoms we hold dear and that have sustained us for generations,” said House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer.
Additionally, the bill has more than 70 bipartisan original co-sponsors: Reps. Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Reps. Ruben Hinojosa (D-TX), Jim Langevin (D-RI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Steve Israel (D-NY), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Dan Kildee (D-MI), Tim Ryan (D-OH), Al Green (D-TX), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), Adam Smith (D-WA), Elijah Cummings (D-MD), Bobby Rush (D-IL) Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Brenda Lawrence (D-MI), Mark Takai (D-HI), John Delaney (D-MD), Sander Levin (D-MI), Mark Takano (D-CA), Albio Sires (D-NJ), Paul Tonko (D-NY), Jim McDermott (D-WA), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), David Cicilline (D-RI), Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Sander Levin (D-MI), Charles Rangel (D-NY), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), John Conyers (D-MI), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Donald Payne Jr. (D-NJ), Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Jared Huffman (D-CA), Robert Brady (D-PA), Denny Heck (D-WA), Jim McGovern (D-MA), John Larson (D-CT), Debbie Dingell (D-MI), Sam Farr (D-CA), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Jose Serrano (D-NY), John Garamendi (D-CA), Ron Kind (D-WI), Jim Himes (D-CT), Judy Chu (D-CA), Grace Napolitano (D-CA), Patrick Murphy (D-FL), Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Eliot Engel (D-NY), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Tim Walz (D-MN), Mike Capuano (D-MA), and Richard Hanna (R-NY).
Of the 105 stakeholder groups that endorsed the bill, representatives from Bend the Arc Jewish Action, Council on American Islamic Relations, Interfaith Alliance, National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepard, and the Friends Committee on National Legislation were also on hand to support the Freedom of Religion Act.
The occasion also marked interfaith harmony as Yasmine Taeb, the Legislative Representative for Human Rights & Civil Liberties at the Friends Committee on National Legislation, Rabbi Jason Kimelman-Block, Director at Bend the Arc Jewish Action, Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Lawrence Couch, Director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, Rabbi Jack Moline, president of Interfaith Alliance, hailed the legislative step.
