The Policy Ended. The Damage Didn’t.
The Trump Administration framed the infamous Travel Ban (or Muslim Ban) as a matter of national security. The Muslim Ban, MENA Migration, and the Shattered Dream of America report tells another truth.
The truth is this: the selective enforcement of the Muslim Ban was intentional. A moment when the masks of “security” and “vetting” slipped, revealing the underlying motive was bias against Muslim-majority countries.
In January 2017, the Trump administration announced an Executive Order titled Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry to the United States, infamously known as the Muslim Ban.
From that point on, refugee admissions from the Middle East and North Africa fell to historic lows for years. Entire families were separated. Communities were silenced. And even after the ban was lifted, the fear and loss it created never fully ended.
Let’s not forget, the Muslim Ban turned fear into policy, targeting entire communities under the guise of protection. Leaving behind data that exposes the deep, lasting harm that occurs when discrimination is written into law.
Our new report, The Muslim Ban, MENA Migration, and the Shattered Dream of America, reveals how a single policy impacted Arab and Muslim life across the United States. Visible in data and deeply felt in daily life.
But the Muslim Ban saga is not just a story of exclusion. It’s also a story of resilience.
Across the country, community-based organizations stepped up and turned struggle into power, and isolation into advocacy. They reminded us of what justice looks like when it refuses to be silent.
The Muslim Ban may have been rescinded and revised, but its damage continues to ripple through policy and perception.