President Biden reversed his controversial travel ban on his first day in office, but still denies access to thousands of people affected by it, angering progressive lawmakers who have declared the position ‘unacceptable’.
The State Department announced Monday night that a majority of U.S. visa applicants whose applications were denied under former President Donald Trump’s travel ban on 13 mostly Muslim-majority and African countries could make new decisions or submit new applications.
But this policy does not extend to one important group: the thousands of individuals who received a “diversity visa” during the Trump administration’s financial years, intended to increase immigration from countries that do not normally receive many visas.
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Foreign Ministry spokesman Ned Price said in a statement on Monday that visas would still be banned for individuals if they had not yet received them, because ‘the deadlines for issuing visas had expired in that financial year. . ‘
The decision prompted a swift reprimand from several progressive members of Congress, prompting Biden to reconsider the policy.
“The cycle of damage must be broken,” said rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., Tweeted. “This is unacceptable.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., Echoed the sentiment, calling the news “outrageous.”
Biden reversed the travel ban on his first day in office, calling it a “stain on our national conscience.” He gave the foreign ministry 45 days to come up with a plan that would allow individuals from the countries affected to reconsider their visa applications.
Under the plan announced Monday, recipients of “diversity visas” are eligible to re-enter the lottery, but have no way to correct their denial under Trump’s travel ban.
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The American Civil Liberties Union, one of several groups that challenged the initial ban, turned the Biden government on the matter and warned that it would eventually confirm Trump’s legacy of harm.
“President Biden just dusted off Trump’s ‘CLOSED’ sign and locked the door behind him,” ACLU attorney Manar Waheed said in a statement. “This decision threatens to forever prevent thousands of black and brown immigrants who meet all the legal requirements to immigrate to the United States from doing so, which will continue the consequences of the discriminatory ban.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a Fox News request for comment.