Washington DC: United States President Donald Trump is likely to impose a new travel ban which could bar people from Afghanistan and Pakistan from entering the US, reported global news agency Reuters quoting sources. The decision is expected next week on the basis of a government review of countries’ security and vetting risks, the sources told the news agency.
The three sources further revealed that there could also be other countries on the list, but they did not know about them. The move is similar to Trump’s first-term ban on travellers from seven majority-Muslim countries. However, the ban was upheld by the US Supreme Court in 2018. The ban was later repealed in 2021 by Trump’s successor Biden, a Democrat. He called it “a stain on our national conscience.”
The new ban could impact the future of thousands of Afghani migrants, who are residing in the US as they were cleared for resettlement or on Special Immigrant Visas as they fear atrocities by the Taliban if they return to Afghanistan.
After taking charge as the US President on January 20, Trump issued an executive order aimed to intensify security vetting of any foreigners seeking asylum in the US. As per the order, several cabinet members by March 12 are required to submit a list of countries from which travel should be partly or fully suspended because of security reasons, reported Reuters.
As per the sources, apart from Afghanistan, Pakistan would also be recommended for inclusion in the list. The Departments of State, Justice and Homeland Security and the Office of the Director for National Intelligence are looking into the matter.
One of the sources told the news agency that those Afghans who are cleared for resettlement in the US as refugees or on special visas are required to undergo intense screening to make them “more highly vetted than any population” in the world. Trump’s directives on the new travel ban are part of his massive crackdown against illegal migrants.
Notably, the Taliban took back control of Afghanistan after 20 years as the US pulled back its forces from the Asian nation in August 2021.
