WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth joined U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and 26 other Senators in introducing a bill to block the implementation of President Trump’s most recent executive order to restrict travel to the United States from eight nations. The Senators’ legislation would declare the executive order illegal based on the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, which banned discrimination against immigrants based on national origin, and withhold funding to restrict enforcement of the travel ban.
“This executive order – much like the President’s previous two attempts to enforce a ban on Muslims entering the United States – puts our national security at risk by giving our enemies a propaganda tool to spread a false narrative about the United States hating Muslims,” said Senator Duckworth. “This ban will not make our country safer; it betrays the American values those of us who served in uniform fought to defend. I’ll keep working to make sure the President’s efforts to discriminate against immigrants simply because of the place they were born or the religion they practice are put to an end once and for all.”
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Trump’s third attempt to institute his “travel ban” executive order was supposed to go into effect at midnight on October 18, 2017, but judges in Hawaii and Maryland successfully stopped the ban from being enforced. After he signed the first executive order in February, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) independent Office of Inspector General (OIG) launched an investigation into its chaotic and potentially illegal implementation at Duckworth’s request.
The following Senators also cosponsored the legislation: U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Al Franken (D-MN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CN), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Kamala Harris (D-CA.).
