Biden Issues Proclamation Reversing
Trump "Muslim Ban"
Trump "Muslim Ban"
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
 President Biden | President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. issued a proclamation today undoing former President Donald J. Trump's ban on migration to the United States of persons from a number of mostly Muslim-majority and African countries. The action, embodied in Presidential Proclamation 10141,was one of six migration-related first-day actions taken by the new president. This particular one effectively revokes the Trump-era policy that was widely referred to as the "Muslim Ban." |
As a technical matter, Wednesday's action by the new president revoked four different actions taken by President Trump: Executive Order 13780 of March 6, 2017 (Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States); Presidential Proclamation 9645 of September 24, 2017 (Enhancing Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats); Presidential Proclamation 9723 of April 10, 2018 (Maintaining Enhanced Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats); and Presidential Proclamation 9983 of January 31, 2020 (Improving Enhanced Vetting Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats).
In explaining the new president's actions, the proclamation declared that "The United States was built on a foundation of religious freedom and tolerance, a principle enshrined in the United States Constitution. Nevertheless, the previous administration enacted a number of Executive Orders and Presidential Proclamations that prevented certain individuals from entering the United States — first from primarily Muslim countries, and later, from largely African countries. Those actions are a stain on our national conscience and are inconsistent with our long history of welcoming people of all faiths and no faith at all."
Continuing, the proclamation asserted of the Trump actions that "Beyond contravening our values, these Executive Orders and Proclamations have undermined our national security. They have jeopardized our global network of alliances and partnerships and are a moral blight that has dulled the power of our example the world over. And they have separated loved ones, inflicting pain that will ripple for years to come. They are just plain wrong."
The Biden proclamation declared that "where there are threats to our Nation, we will address them. Where there are opportunities to strengthen information-sharing with partners, we will pursue them. And when visa applicants request entry to the United States, we will apply a rigorous, individualized vetting system. But we will not turn our backs on our values with discriminatory bans on entry into the United States. "
Continuing, the proclamation asserted of the Trump actions that "Beyond contravening our values, these Executive Orders and Proclamations have undermined our national security. They have jeopardized our global network of alliances and partnerships and are a moral blight that has dulled the power of our example the world over. And they have separated loved ones, inflicting pain that will ripple for years to come. They are just plain wrong."
The Biden proclamation declared that "where there are threats to our Nation, we will address them. Where there are opportunities to strengthen information-sharing with partners, we will pursue them. And when visa applicants request entry to the United States, we will apply a rigorous, individualized vetting system. But we will not turn our backs on our values with discriminatory bans on entry into the United States. "
In addition to revoking the four Trump-era executive actions, the proclamation also ordered the Secretary of State and Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Director of National Intelligence, to report to the President on four matters, including a description of the current screening and vetting procedures for those seeking immigrant and nonimmigrant entry to the United States; a review of foreign government information-sharing practices vis-à-vis the United States; recommendations to improve screening and vetting activities; and a review of the current use of social media identifiers in the screening and vetting process, including an assessment of whether this use has meaningfully improved screening and vetting, and recommendations in light of this assessment.
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