A Virginia congressman announced a bill that would make it illegal for the U.S. to block an immigrant based on that immigrant's religion.
Virginia Rep. Don Beyer, a member of the Democratic Party, announced the bill that is just one full sentence, reported the
Washington Post.
The bill read, "An alien may not be denied admission to the United States because of the alien's religion or lack of religious beliefs."
The Post reported that New York Rep. Joe Crowley called Beyer's bill "important legislation" and "a noble effort."
Beyer said the bill bans "negative use," and would not prevent authorities from considering an immigrant's religion, but it would prevent banning an immigrant based on religion.
The announcement could have been meant to respond to Donald Trump's call to ban Muslims from entering the United States. Donald Trump had said his call for a ban was "just a suggestion," according to
Politico.
During a radio interview with Brian Kilmeade, Trump said the ban "hasn't been called for yet" and it's "just a suggestion until we find out what's going on."
Later, Trump appeared on the TV show "On the Record" and told host Greta van Susteren that he always wanted the ban to be temporary. Fox News Insider reported that Trump told van Susteren that "I'd like to back off on it as soon as possible."
Trump stood behind his call for caution and said, "We have to be vigilant."
Trump first made the call to ban Muslim travel to the U.S. in December 2015, according to
CNN. A campaign press release then called for "a total and complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the U.S.
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