More than two centuries before a “Muslim ban” headlined the New York Times or led to the detainment of thousands of Muslims at airports across the United States, Muslims were statutorily barred from becoming American citizens. They were deemed threatening to and unassimilable within American values and society. In line with the demonization of this entire bloc of immigrants, the courts prohibited Muslim immigrants from becoming naturalized citizens from 1790 to 1944. During this span, Muslim identity, by law, was viewed as contradictory with American citizenship.

XREF: Connects to current debates about Muslim bans and citizenship, showing historical precedent predates contemporary discourse by two centuries.

Khaled A. Beydoun, American Islamophobia_ Unde…, loc. 147