An End to the Muslim Ban Is Just the Beginning

Yesterday, Joe Biden was inaugurated as President of the United States. And today, as part of his day one agenda, he has rescinded one of the Trump administration’s most incendiary orders: the Muslim Ban. The Muslim ban, enacted within Trump’s first days in office, virtually blocked immigration from countries with substantial Muslim populations such as Iran, Syria, Iraq, Sudan, Libya, Somalia, and Yemen. With no warning, the order sent people across the world scrambling to avoid permanent separation from their families, their jobs, and their education. Amidst a national outcry and protests in airports and on the streets across the country, the ACLU was able to secure an early victory in the courts. But, over the years, fighting the Muslim ban became like a game of whac-a-mole. The administration would come up with superficial tweaks of language to dodge judicial scrutiny, and the ACLU and others would fight anew. In the end, we were left with a ban, rubber-stamped by the Supreme Court, that blocked entry to people from 13 countries around the world, mostly in Africa and the Middle East. In this episode, we share stories that highlight the impact the ban has had and discuss what ending it will and won’t do for the future of Muslims in America. A listener note: the conversations that follow were recorded prior to the Biden administration’s move to end the ban.