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While I oppose nearly all of the policies introduced by President Trump, there are few that I believe to have been as cruel as the Muslim Ban, which he enacted in January 2017 during the first week of his presidency. Ever since the first day of the ban, when I rushed to JFK Airport to help those arriving in our country only to be met with cruelty and rejection, I have been fighting to end this ban and send a clear message that there will be zero tolerance for xenophobia or religious discrimination. Last week, the House took a huge step in the direction of righting that injustice by passing the NO BAN Act, which would repeal the Muslim ban and reform our immigration laws so that no future President can restrict immigration based on religion alone.
I am deeply proud that theNO BAN Act originated with the House Judiciary Committee—it was an honor to shepherd a bill of this meaning and importance to so many through the Committee and, ultimately, through the House.
Securing Access to Counsel Within Our Immigration System
Immediately after the House passed the NO BAN Act,we passed the Access to Counsel Act, which compels the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that any individuals detained for longer than one hour can communicate with counsel. I found it quite fitting that the Access to Counsel Act passed immediately after the NO BAN Act,given how many refugees, individuals with valid visas, and even lawful permanent residents were detained for hours and prevented from speaking with attorneys in the chaotic first hours and days of the Muslim Ban. I was honored to champion this bill introduced by my friend, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), through the Judiciary Committee and the House and am proud of the work it does to enshrine the right to due process protections—a key tenet of American jurisprudence—for both American citizens and immigrants alike.
Leading the Judiciary Committee’s Efforts to Hold the President Accountable
This week, the House Judiciary Committee marked up two pieces of vitally needed legislation: the No President Is Above the Law Act and the Abuse of the Pardon Prevention Act.Like so many of you, I was appalled by President Trump’s decision to pardon his close associate Roger Stone, who was found guilty by a jury on seven felonious charges. The Abuse of the Pardon Prevention Act would compel the Department of Justice to provide Congress with all evidence discovered in any cases where the President pardons an individual with ties to them or their family.
The No President Is Above the Law Act, which I sponsored along with my Judiciary Committee colleagues Representatives Deutch (D-FL) and Swalwell (D-CA), ensures that a President can be held accountable for potentially criminal behavior committed either during or before the President’s time in office by suspending the statute of limitations to any federal offense. With the Department of Justice refusing to indict a sitting President (guidance that I and many constitutional scholars disagree with), a President could ostensibly commit a crime and by the time they left office, no longer be eligible for prosecution. The No President Is Above the Law Act would ensure accountability for all Presidents so that no one can ever be held above the law.
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