Washington, D.C. – Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area (LSSNCA) strongly denounces the administration’s recent proclamation imposing sweeping travel bans and restrictions on nationals from 19 countries. Impacted nations include Afghanistan, Burma, Eritrea, Iran, and Sudan. These travel bans and restrictions were issued under the guise of national security. However, categorizing people based on their country of birth is both wrong and discriminatory.
While exceptions exist for Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders, lawful permanent residents, American citizens with dual citizenship, and certain immediate family members of U.S. citizens, the bans — which go into effect on Monday — prevent many vulnerable individuals experiencing war, political instability, or humanitarian crises from reuniting with families and finding long-awaited safety.
“Categorically restricting access to protection and safety based on nationality goes against our nation's core value of welcoming people escaping violence and persecution,” said Kristyn Peck, CEO of LSSNCA. "Our faith calls on us to welcome the stranger and shelter the persecuted. We urge our elected leaders to uphold our values of welcoming and obligations of protecting forcibly displaced people.”
LSSNCA calls for an immediate reversal of this policy, which mirrors previous iterations that failed to show evidence of making us safer. We urge elected officials to speak out against these bans and urges immediate passage of the NO BAN Act, reintroduced by Senator Chris Coons (DE) and Representative Judy Chu (CA-27), to ensure that no future administration can unilaterally impose blanket bans rooted in discrimination rather than facts.
