Press Release

Washington, D.C. – The #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign unequivocally condemns the Trump administration’s new travel ban, announced Wednesday, June 4. In this expanded version of the Muslim and African bans implemented during the first Trump administration, the president is once again targeting people from majority Muslim-countries, as well as African, Asian, and Caribbean nations. The ban will impose a chaotic, racist, and cruel policy of family separation that will keep Black and Brown families across the globe from reuniting and finding safety together. 

The policy imposes a complete entry ban on people of 12 countries – Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen – while imposing heightened visa restrictions on people from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Many of these countries are mired in conflict and security challenges fueling displacement. Suspending or restricting immigrant visas will eliminate a crucial pathway to protection for those forced to flee. The ban offers no exceptions for urgent humanitarian cases or medical emergencies and will prevent refugees from bringing their families to safety.

The Muslim and African ban mark yet another cruel attack on the immigrant communities that immeasurably enrich our country, from the recent revocations of temporary protected status (TPS), to ICE arrests of people seeking safety during their immigration court hearings, to enforced disappearances to El Salvador. 

The #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign represents 129 member organizations committed to standing by our immigrant friends, neighbors, and communities impacted by the Muslim and African ban. We call for the reversal of this cruel policy, and we urge Congress to support the No Ban Act, reintroduced by Senator Chris Coons (DE) and Representative Judy Chu (CA-27), which would repeal the Muslim and African ban and prevent the implementation of discriminatory bans in the future. 

“The travel ban announced today by President Trump further closes protection pathways to the United States and prevents thousands of people from seeking safety,” said Kate Brick, Executive Director of the Refugee Advocacy Lab. “Communities across the country will feel the impacts as they and their neighbors are prevented from reuniting with their families. These policies run counter to the priorities of communities and local leaders, who are ready and willing to welcome newcomers. The Lab will continue to work with them as we fight for a future where people have the freedom to keep their families safe.”

“As an Afghan and an asylee, I know firsthand the heartbreak these bans cause. President Trump’s expanded travel ban is a racist and cruel policy that targets Black, Brown, Muslim, and immigrant communities under the false guise of national security,” said Fatima Saidi, Director of We Are All America. “I fled persecution—just like so many others who are now being shut out and vilified. This is not about safety; it’s about fear, exclusion, and white nationalism. We cannot and will not be silent. We must rise together and resist this assault on our communities, our values, and our democracy.”

“We are repeating history in the worst possible ways. This travel ban is a continuation of the discriminatory policies that defined the first Trump administration,” said Nili Sarit Yossinger, Executive Director of Refugee Congress. “It does not protect our communities. It does not enhance our national security. Instead, it undermines our values and shuts the door on families, students, refugees, and asylum seekers who have every right to seek safety and opportunity in the United States.”

“Today’s proclamation weaponizes and distorts immigration laws to target people that the president dislikes and disagrees with – and it does so based primarily on racial and religious animus. It is yet another shameful attempt by the Trump administration to sow division, fear, and chaos,” said Stephanie Gee, Senior Director of U.S. Legal Services at the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). “We cannot allow this Administration to erode foundational American principles and replace them with their bigoted agenda. IRAP and our clients stand ready to defend the rights of the families and communities harmed by this disastrous proclamation, reaffirming that justice, dignity, and welcome are not only values we uphold, but promises we are determined to fulfill.”

“This ban harkens back to the racist and Islamophobic ban piloted under the first Trump administration,” said Azadeh Erfani, Policy Director with the National Immigrant Justice Center. “We knew back then that it had nothing to do with national security, and everything to do with animus towards predominantly Black, Brown, and Muslim individuals and families. Rather than learn from the devastation this ban caused, separating families for years on end, this administration is recycling it once again–all while issuing a military-style assault on U.S. cities and immigrant communities. We urge members of Congress to stand up against the executive branch’s continued racist and retaliatory assault on our collective rights, including the devastating ban going into effect today.” 

“Categorically restricting access to protection and safety based on nationality goes against our nation’s core value of welcoming people escaping violence and persecution,” said Kristyn Peck, CEO of Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA). “Our faith calls on us to welcome the stranger and shelter the persecuted. We urge our elected leaders to uphold our values of welcoming and obligations of protecting forcibly displaced people.” 

“Wholesale travel bans targeting entire nationalities do not produce any measurable national benefit. Instead, they separate families, leave people at risk of persecution and torture, deprive employers of essential workers, and erode the vibrant fabric of our communities. True national security begins with human rights and a commitment to equality, not with policies of division and discrimination.” said Madeline Lohman, Advocacy and Outreach Director at The Advocates for Human Rights.

“This return to divisive and racist policies to target entire populations marks yet another anti-immigrant and punitive action taken by President Trump,” said Robyn Barnard, Senior Director of Refugee Advocacy at Human Rights First. “The ban will harm refugees, asylum seekers, and other vulnerable populations, including many who have been waiting to reunite with loved ones in our country. Bans do nothing to make our country secure, but rather undermine our national security and arbitrarily target those most in need of protection.”

“The administration’s new travel ban is yet another cruel policy that will separate families and inflict profound pain on immigrant communities,” said Kate Jastram, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS). “This racist ban flies in the face of our values of justice and dignity for all, using the pretext of national security to shut the door on Black and Brown immigrants and stoke fear in our communities.”

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The #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign for asylum rights is composed of more than 129 organizations committed to transforming the way the United States receives and protects people forced to flee their homes to ensure they are treated humanely and fairly. To learn more about what we stand for, visit us online: https://wwdignity.org/solutions; to request an interview with an experts from the #WelcomeWithDignity Campaign, visit us here: welcomewithdignity.org