April, 21 2021, 12:00am EDT
NIAC Praises House Passage of NO BAN Act
WASHINGTON
Jamal Abdi, President of the National Iranian American Council (NIAC), issued the following statement on the House passage of the NO BAN Act (H.R. 1333) from Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) and Access to Counsel Act from Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA):
"The protests against Donald Trump's Muslim ban fed into a movement that swept Trump from office and brought in Joe Biden, who ended the ban on his first day in office. But the work remains for those who continue to be impacted by the ban and communities - like the Iranian-American community - who risk being targeted by subsequent bans. Unfortunately, Trumpism and the ugly xenophobia that fuels it remains a powerful force in American politics.
"Thankfully, the House took the first step toward guarding against any future discriminatory bans by passing the NO BAN Act. This critical legislation - crafted by legislators in consultation with civil rights groups and impacted communities - helps ensure that the stain of the Muslim ban is never repeated. Now it is time for the Senate to officially debate the ban for the first time and pass the NO BAN Act. We call on Sen. Schumer and all Senators of good conscience to send the NO BAN Act on to President Biden for his signature. We also call on Congress and the administration to ensure that all those impacted have had their harm redressed, including diversity visa recipients unjustly blocked by Trump's discriminatory orders.
"Iranian nationals and Iranian Americans were the Muslim ban's largest target, with 30,000 Iranians denied solely on the basis of Trump's bigotry. Yet our community never accepted the ban and fought tooth and nail to ensure it was defeated and that families could reunite.
"Considered along with the NO BAN Act is Rep. Jayapal's Access to Counsel Act, a critical bill to ensure that U.S. nationals and those with valid visas have access to a lawyer at ports of entry. Under the Trump administration, many individuals of Iranian heritage were subjected to detention, deportation and abuse solely on the basis of their national origin - including students with valid visas deported arbitrarily and Iranian nationals detained at the Blaine Port of Entry amid heightened tensions with Iran. The Senate should pick up this bill and pass it without delay, along with the NO BAN Act."
The National Iranian American Council (NIAC) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 2002 to give voice to the Iranian-American community. From being the trusted voice on U.S.- Iran relations, to pushing forth legislation that protects individuals of Iranian heritage from systematic discrimination, to celebrating our cultural heritage, NIAC creates a lasting impact in the lives of the members of our community.
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"State-sanctioned murder is not justice, and President Biden has an opportunity and an obligation to save lives," Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley said earlier this week.
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U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that he is commuting the sentences of nearly 1,500 Americans and pardoning 39 people convicted of nonviolent crimes, a move the White House described as "the largest single-day grant of clemency in modern history."
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According to a White House fact sheet, those who received commutations "have been serving their sentences at home for at least one year under the Covid-era CARES Act," a law that extended the amount of time in which people could be placed in home confinement to reduce the spread of the virus in prisons.
The White House did not name those who received pardons or commutations but said the list includes a "decorated military veteran," a "nurse who has led emergency response for several natural disasters," and "an addiction counselor who volunteers his time to help young people find their purpose."
The Biden Justice Department paused federal executions in 2021, but President-elect Donald Trump pledged on the campaign trail to expand the use of the death penalty and is expected to allow the executions of the 40 men on death row to take place if they're still there when he takes office next month.
In a statement on Thursday, Biden said that he has "the great privilege of extending mercy to people who have demonstrated remorse and rehabilitation, restoring opportunity for Americans to participate in daily life and contribute to their communities, and taking steps to remove sentencing disparities for non-violent offenders, especially those convicted of drug offenses."
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Biden, who campaigned on ending the death penalty at the federal level, vowed to "take more steps in the weeks ahead" as his administration reviews clemency petitions, leaving open the possibility of commutations for death row prisoners.
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As Omar, a leading critic of the U.S.-backed Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip, also pointed out: "The NDAA includes a provision that blocks the Pentagon from using data on casualties and deaths from the Gaza Ministry of Health or any sources relying on those statistics. This is an alarming erasure of the suffering of the Palestinian people, ignoring the human toll of ongoing violence."
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