Folks from Afghanistan and Pakistan won’t be capable of enter the USA from as early as subsequent week as US President Donald Trump mulls a brand new new journey ban proposed, sources accustomed to the matter stated.
The ban relies on a evaluation of the safety and vetting dangers of sure international locations, the sources, who requested anonymity, stated. Different international locations can also be included, although the specifics stay unclear, based on three sources, who requested anonymity, cited in a Reuters report.
Different international locations can also be included, although the specifics stay unclear, the report stated.
Scores of Afghans in danger
The proposed ban may lead to large penalties for tens of 1000’s of Afghans who’ve been cleared to resettle within the US below refugee or Particular Immigrant Visas (SIVs). These Afghans are vulnerable to Taliban retribution for helping US efforts in the course of the two-decade-long battle in Afghanistan.
In January, Donald Trump issued an government order mandating a evaluation of overseas nationals searching for US entry, with the aim of figuring out nationwide safety threats via intensified vetting. This order directed a number of authorities companies to submit suggestions for an inventory of nations whose journey needs to be restricted on account of insufficient screening by March 21, the Reuters report talked about.
This new journey ban is a part of Donald Trump’s broader immigration crackdown, which he first introduced in October 2023. Throughout that speech, he vowed to limit immigration from international locations like Gaza, Libya, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen, in addition to others deemed safety threats.
Pak, Afghanistan might be topic to full journey bans
Afghanistan and Pakistan are each anticipated to be on the checklist of nations topic to full journey bans, the sources cited within the report confirmed. The US departments of State, Justice, Homeland Safety, and the Workplace of the Director of Nationwide Intelligence, that are overseeing the evaluation, haven’t responded to requests for remark.
One supply stated out that Afghans cleared for resettlement bear intense screening, making them “extra extremely vetted than any inhabitants” globally. Regardless of this, the State Division’s workplace overseeing Afghan relocation efforts is searching for an exemption for SIV holders from the brand new ban, although approval isn’t assured.
The division has additionally been tasked with getting ready for the closure of the Afghan relocation workplace by April, as beforehand reported by Reuters.
Because the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul in August 2021, following the US army withdrawal, the insurgency by ISIS’s regional department has additional destabilised Afghanistan whereas Pakistan additionally faces its personal safety challenges on account of violent Islamist militants.
Shawn VanDiver, head of #AfghanEvac, a coalition helping within the resettlement of Afghans, urged these holding legitimate US visas to journey as quickly as potential.
“Whereas no official announcement has been made, a number of sources inside the U.S. authorities counsel a brand new journey restriction might be applied inside the subsequent week,” Reuters quoted VanDiver as saying.
At present, round 2,00,000 Afghans are both permitted for resettlement or have pending refugee or SIV functions. Many stay stranded in Afghanistan and different international locations, together with about 20,000 in Pakistan, following Donald Trump’s January order that froze refugee admissions and overseas support funding for his or her flights.
