US lawmakers introduce bill to end Trump's 'Muslim ban'

WASHINGTON

U.S. Senator Chris Coons and Congresswoman Judy Chu introduced legislation Wednesday to end President Donald Trump's ban on immigration from five Muslim-majority countries.

The No Ban Act expands anti-discrimination immigration protections, explicitly adding religion to the Immigration & Nationality Act’s protections, and curtails the presidential authority to issue blanket restrictions.

It is unclear when the companion bills will be taken up in the House and Senate, but Coons said it is aimed at preventing the president and future presidents from instituting a religion-based ban.

"It is time we band together to elevate a solution and to right this wrong," Coons said outside of the Capitol building. "We are clear-eyed this policy was not rooted in facts. It was not put forward to actually make us safer. It was rooted in hate."

The White House has argued the ban is necessary to protect national security, and the Supreme Court narrowly upheld it in a 5-4 ruling last June.

That version was Trump's third iteration of the ban, which bars people from five Muslim-majority countries, North Korea, and some Venezuela officials from entering the U.S.

Nearly 400 groups from a broad spectrum of backgrounds, including national security, community and faith-based organizations, threw their support behind the No Ban Act act in a joint letter to Congress, urging lawmakers' support.

"We urge you to support this important legislation because your leadership on this issue is critical to ensuring that Congress sends a strong message to the American people that how someone prays should not dictate whether the government can ban them from coming to the United States," they wrote.