Statement from the Iranian American Bar Association on the Presidential Travel Ban

The Iranian American Bar Association (IABA) denounces the establishment of a new travel ban imposed on 19 countries, including a full suspension on Iranian Nationals. This blanket and discriminatory ban on the entry of foreign nationals, based solely on their nationality or place of birth and vague alleged “security threats,” undermines the core American principles of fairness, equality before the law, and due process.

As a nonpartisan organization committed to the rule of law and the protection of civil liberties, IABA stands firmly against policies that discriminate based on national origin and that lack transparency and accountability. Many in our community have suffered the consequences of such bans: families separated, students denied or stripped of opportunities they have struggled for years to achieve, and lives disrupted often at critical times (such as weddings, births and deaths) without any individualized assessment of risk or merit. Moreover, sweeping bans on the basis of perceived political threats punish innocent people, not the governments they claim to target.

Here, the Trump administration’s sole justification for its blanket prohibition on the entry of Iranian nationals into the United States is the claim that they serve as a “national security threat” because the government of Iran is a state sponsor of terror and does not cooperate with the U.S. in providing information about applicants. However, the Trump Administration provides no information, let alone evidence of: (1) how the actions of Iran’s government, however perceived, justifies banning all of the people of the country; (2) why or how the U.S. government’s own intelligence and vetting (including extreme vetting) of Iranians, as aided by Iranian applicants seeking entry, has proven insufficient under existing procedures; or (3) whether any Iranians who have entered the U.S. under these mechanisms have posed a national security threat to the U.S.

The legal and factual inconsistencies in the Proclamation make clear that national security is being used as a pretext for discrimination and a broader effort to reshape U.S. immigration policy.

We urge Congress to pass the NO BAN Act, a critical piece of legislation that would limit executive overreach in immigration policy and ensure that future administrations cannot enact discriminatory entry bans without strong justification and congressional oversight. The NO BAN Act represents a necessary safeguard against policies rooted in prejudice rather than principle.

IABA calls on policymakers, legal professionals, and all those who believe in justice and equal treatment to support this legislation and to advocate for a more humane and lawful immigration system.