People from Pakistan and Afghanistan could be barred from entering the United States as US President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to impose a travel ban on the two countries over security and vetting risks. The ban could come into effect as soon as next week, according to a report by Reuters.
The report said the Trump administration has prepared a "list" for the travel ban based on a government review of countries' security and vetting risks. "Other countries could also be on the list," sources told Reuters, without naming any other nation.
The move harkens back to President Trump's first term ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018. Former President Joe Biden repealed the ban in 2021, calling it "a stain on our national conscience."
Trump Intensifies Vetting Process
After taking office on January 20, Trump issued an executive order requiring intensified security vetting of any foreigners seeking admission to the US to detect national security threats. The order directed several cabinet members to submit by March 12 a list of countries from which travel should be partly or fully suspended because their "vetting and screening information is so deficient."
Trump's directive is part of an immigration crackdown that he launched at the start of his second term. He previewed his plan in an October 2023 speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and "anywhere else that threatens our security."
Ban To Affect Afghan Refugees
The new ban could affect tens of thousands of Afghans who have been cleared for resettlement in the US as refugees or on Special Immigrant Visas because they are at risk of Taliban retribution for working for the US during a 20-year war in their home country.
The Reuters report said Afghanistan and Pakistan will be included in the recommended list of countries for a complete travel ban. The Taliban, who seized Kabul as the last US troops pulled out in August 2021 after two decades of war, are confronting an insurgency by Islamic State's regional branch. Pakistan also is grappling with violent Islamist militants.
So far, no official statement has been issued on the initiative overseen by the departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security and the Office of the Director for National Intelligence.
Afghans cleared for resettlement in the United States as refugees or on the special visas first undergo intense screening that makes them "more highly vetted than any population" in the world. A source told Reuters that the State Department office, which oversees their resettlement, is seeking an exemption for Special Immigrant Visa holders from the travel ban "but it's not assumed likely to be granted."
As per an earlier report, the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, the office that oversees this task, has been told to develop a plan by April for its closure.
Shawn VanDiver, the head of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of groups that coordinates evacuation and resettlement of Afghans with the American government, urged those holding valid US visas to travel as soon as possible if they can.
"While no official announcement has been made, multiple sources within the U.S. government suggest a new travel restriction could be implemented within the next week," he said in a statement.
This "may significantly impact Afghan visa holders who have been awaiting relocation" to the US, he added.
There are some 200,000 Afghans who have been approved for US resettlement or have pending US refugee and Special Immigrant Visa applications. They have been stranded in Afghanistan and nearly 90 other countries - including about 20,000 in Pakistan - since January 20, when Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on refugee admissions and foreign aid that funds their flights.
