On the first day of his presidency, president-elect Joe Biden intends to rescind Donald Trump\u2019s travel bans on travellers from 13 countries, most either majority-Muslim or African nations.
Shortly after taking office in 2017, Trump issued an executive order that banned travellers from seven majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States.
The Trump administration reworked the order several times amid legal challenges and the Supreme Court upheld a version of it in 2018. The countries subject to entry restrictions have changed over the years.
The bans could be easily undone as they were issued by executive order and presidential proclamation, according to policy experts, but lawsuits from conservatives could delay the process.
In October, Biden also promised to push politicians for laws to fight the surging number of hate crimes in the US.
\u201cAs president, I\u2019ll work with you to rip the poison of hate from our society to honour your contributions and seek your ideas. My administration will look like America with Muslim Americans serving at every level,\u201d he said.
\u201cOn day one, I\u2019ll end Trump\u2019s unconstitutional Muslim ban.\u201d
Trump imposed the travel restrictions \u2013 often referred to by critics as the \u201cMuslim ban\u201d \u2013 through a series of executive orders singling out Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen, triggering criticism that it amounted to unlawful religious discrimination.
Trump then expanded the ban to include Venezuela and North Korea and later added Nigeria, Sudan, Myanmar and three other countries to the list.
\u201cMuslim communities are the first to feel Donald Trump\u2019s assault on Black and brown communities in this country, with his vile Muslim ban. That fight was the opening barrage in what has been nearly four years of constant pressure and insults,\u201d Biden said.
\u2018First day in office\u2019
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the US\u2019s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation, congratulated Biden on his victory on Saturday and said it would hold him to his election promises.
\u201cPresident-elect Biden has pledged to end the Muslim Ban on his first day in office, include Muslims at every level of his administration and address issues of racial and religious discrimination,\u201d said Nihad Awad, CAIR\u2019s national executive director.
\u201cWe plan to join other American Muslim leaders and organisations in ensuring that the Biden administration fulfils these promises. We also plan to continue holding our government accountable when it errs.\u201d
During the election campaign, Trump accused Biden of wanting to \u201cend all travel bans, including from jihadist regions, and he implied his challenger would allow \u201cpeople that are going to come in and blow up our cities, do things\u201d.
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