The House passed (233-183) an amendment that terminates all of the president's executive orders and proclamations that have been issued to bar citizens of certain countries from entering the United States, and it limits the ability of a president to issue new entry bans.

Under the measure, all presidential orders that are collectively known as the "travel ban" or a "Muslim ban" issued by President Trump would be terminated upon enactment, as would all actions taken by federal agencies pursuant to those orders.

It requires the State and Homeland Security departments to report to Congress on the entry restriction orders that have been issued by Trump to date. The report must detail the total number of individuals who applied for a visa while the ban was in effect; the total number of individuals who were approved or refused and who were granted or denied a waiver; and the total number who had a visa pending for each visa category (desegregated by country). It must also detail the total number of refugees admitted into country since the orders were issued.

It also modifies the Immigration and Nationality Act to explicitly forbid the use of religion to discriminate against, or to give any preference to, an individual seeking entry into the United States. (Current law forbids the use of race, sex, nationality, place of birth, or place of residence.)

Supporters

Supporters of the amendment, primarily Democrats, say the president's "travel ban" is discriminatory against Muslims and that this measure will reign in his executive overreach and defend Congress's constitutional role in setting the nation's immigration laws. The right of the president to issue temporary travel bans was originally enacted to allow the government to quickly deal with emerging issues involving national security, public safety or international stability. Instead, President Trump has misused the law as carte blanche authority to rewrite provisions of immigration law with which he disagrees, attempting to deliver on a campaign promise to ban Muslims from the United States, a promise they say is based on racial division and fear. They note that the bill explicitly continues to permit the president to use the law to restrict entry in a public health crisis, but will block his ability to use it to discriminate against broad-based groups for purposes unrelated to keeping the country safe.

Opponents

Opponents of the amendment, primarily Republicans, say the president has used limited, targeted travel bans to help ensure the nation's safety and security. The ban instituted in 2017 was not targeted at any particular group, they say, but was based on Homeland Security Department criteria for determining which countries are making reliable decisions regarding the admissibility of foreign nationals entering the United States — such as whether a country reports lost or stolen identity documents to Interpol. They point out that when a nation comes into compliance with the standards they can be removed from the list of restricted countries, just like Chad was in 2018. The Democratic measure, they say, would inhibit the president's ability to respond to a health crisis like the current one involving the new coronavirus, where restrictions have been placed on individuals who have recently been to virus hot spots. It would be irresponsible to tie the president's hands in the midst of a public health crisis, they say.