From Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in PA (https://www.lutheranadvocacypa.org/):
On January 31, 2020, the administration announced the expansion of the January 2017 travel ban to include more countries in Africa and Asia. Under the new policy, citizens from Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan will be barred from applying for visas to immigrate to the United States. Citizens of two other countries, Sudan and Tanzania, will no longer be allowed to participate in the Diversity Immigrant Visa lottery, which diversifies the source countries of immigrants to the U.S.to include countries with low rates on immigration. This lottery particularly allows individuals of African countries to migrate to the U.S. who otherwise will not be able to do so.
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This announcement comes a few days after the third anniversary of the first refugee and travel ban, as well as after the one-year anniversary of the “Migrant Protection Protocols” (MPP) policy that closes our doors to asylum seekers and forces them to wait in dangerous conditions in Mexico. The administration continues to repeatedly attack refugees, asylum seekers and our Muslim neighbors, prolonging family separation, undermining our moral and legal obligations to the most vulnerable and discriminating against people based on their faith or nationality.
The National Origin-Based Antidiscrimination for Nonimmigrants Act (NO BAN Act) is legislation that would terminate the administration’s refugee, Muslim and asylum bans and ensure that no one is banned from our country based on religious or nationality-based discrimination. Join us in calling on all members of Congress to cosponsor and pass the NO BAN Act (S.1123 / H.R.2214) – and to do everything in their power to oppose and stop the new expansion of the travel ban.
The Rev. Elizabeth A. Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA, writes in a recent pastoral letter, “Through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus God has set us free from ourselves to serve our neighbor. This expanded policy separates families from loved ones already here. Further, it prevents people – especially those escaping perilous or life-threatening situations in several of these nations – from coming to safety in the U.S. It does not enhance our safety or reflect our vocation as Christians.”
No family or community should be separated because of their religion or where they come from—but that’s exactly what this administration’s travel ban has done and what the expansion of this ban would continue to do. We must protect the rights of people of all religious backgrounds and nationalities to be with their families. Therefore, we invite you to oppose the administration’s travel bans and urge Congress to support the NO BAN Act (S.1123 / H.R.2214) legislation that prevents the president and future occupants of the Oval Office from banning people because of their religion or nationality.
Please stand in solidarity with immigrants and their families by sending personalized messages to your senators and request they support the
NO BAN Act (S.1123 / H.R.2214).
Thank you for your Advocacy!
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