Looming Trump travel ban strikes fear in Afghans who worked with U.S. military
Expectations that President Donald Trump will soon bar Afghans and Pakistanis from entering the United States has set off panic among Afghans who were promised visas for their work with the U.S. military, according to three refugee advocates.
The Trump administration is preparing a new travel ban that will prohibit citizens of multiple countries from traveling to the United States based on concerns related to security and vetting, according to the advocates, who said they were informed directly by government officials. Afghanistan and Pakistan will likely be part of that blacklist, and the travel ban could be announced as soon as next week, they said.
Reuters first reported on the proposed travel ban.
In his first term in office, Trump imposed similar travel bans that blacklisted Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen.
A State Department spokesperson said Friday that the agency is undertaking a full review of all visa programs but did not offer any details on the countries under consideration.
'The visa adjudication process must ensure that U.S.-bound foreign travelers do not pose a threat to the national security and public safety of the United States,' the spokesperson added.
Refugee advocate groups have appealed to the administration to make an exception for tens of thousands of Afghans who have received or who are due to receive special immigrant visas (SIVs) for their work for the U.S. military or American embassy during the 20-year U.S. war in Afghanistan.
But with no guarantee that the White House will carve out an exception for the Afghans who worked as interpreters or in other jobs, nonprofit organizations are racing to help the Afghans fly to the United States before a ban takes effect.
Thousands of Afghans who are in Pakistan, Qatar and Albania and who have SIV paperwork are scrambling to get final approvals and arrange flights to the U.S. with the help of refugee aid organizations, advocates said.
'The news of a possible travel ban imposed on Afghans has created utter panic within the SIV community,' according to Kim Staffieri, co-founder and executive director of the Association of Wartime Allies, a nonprofit that helps Afghans resettle in the United States.
The frenetic atmosphere is reminiscent of the chaos that marked the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 under the Biden administration, when Taliban militants quickly routed Afghan government troops and seized control of the capital, Staffieri and other advocates said.
'In many ways, their despair and expressions of hopelessness are worse now than what we heard in August of 2021 during the chaotic NEO (noncombatant evacuation operations),' Staffieri said.
"They, as well as civil society advocates, are stunned that we are going through this all over again," she said, adding: "Our promises to our wartime allies once again stand in question."
A nonprofit that helps Afghans who worked for the U.S. government, AfghanEvac, issued an urgent alert Wednesday advising all Afghan citizens holding valid U.S. visas to 'travel as soon as possible' to the United States, citing 'credible indications' of an imminent travel ban on Afghan nationals.
Shawn VanDiver, the head of AfghanEvac, said he hoped the president and his aides would carve out an exception for Afghan partners, especially given how much the Trump campaign criticized the Biden White House for its handling of the U.S. pullout of Afghanistan in 2021.
'The Trump folks had a lot to say about the Biden administration leaving people (Afghans) behind, and they were,' VanDiver said. 'And now they're not lifting a finger to help our wartime allies, at least what we can see.'
Last month, NBC News reported that the Trump administration told the office overseeing the resettlement of Afghans to the United States to draw up plans to possibly shut down by April. The move could strand more than 250,000 Afghans and their families who face persecution from the Taliban for their ties to America.
In an executive order issued on Inauguration Day, Trump ordered the State Department to start identifying countries 'for which vetting and screening information is so deficient as to warrant a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries.'
The president gave the State Department, along with other federal agencies, 60 days to submit a report on the requested list of countries.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
23 minutes ago
In their own words: Trump, Newsom trade insults and barbs over National Guard in Los Angeles
The swiftly evolving situation in the Los Angeles area over protests surrounding immigration enforcement actions has also cued up a public spat between President Donald Trump and Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California governor who has been one of the Republican president's most vocal Democratic critics. After Trump on Sunday called up 2,000 National Guard troops to respond, Newsom said he would sue the administration, a promise on which the state followed through a day later. Trump cited a legal provision that allows him to mobilize federal service members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States." The president also agreed with one of his top advisers that maybe the governor should be arrested. Here's a look at back-and-forth between Trump and Newsom in their own words: 'You have violent people, and we're not gonna let them get away with it.' — Trump, Sunday, in remarks to reporters in Morristown, New Jersey. ___ Newsom's ire has been elevated over Trump's decision to, without his support, call up the California National Guard for deployment into his state. In a letter Sunday, Newsom called on Trump to rescind the Guard deployment, calling it a 'serious breach of state sovereignty.' The governor, who was in Los Angeles meeting with local law enforcement and other officials, also told protesters they were playing into Trump's plans and would face arrest for violence or property destruction. 'Trump wants chaos and he's instigated violence,' he said. 'Stay peaceful. Stay focused. Don't give him the excuse he's looking for.' In an interview with MSNBC, Newsom said Sunday he had spoken with Trump 'late Friday night,' after the protests had begun, but said deploying the National Guard 'never came up.' "We talked for almost 20 minutes, and he — barely, this issue never came up. I mean, I kept trying to talk about LA, he wanted to talk about all these other issues," Newsom said. 'We had a very decent conversation.' 'He never once brought up the National Guard,' Newsom said of Trump, calling him 'a stone-cold liar.' Saying, 'I did call him the other night,' Trump told reporters Sunday that he told Newsom in that call: ''Look you've got to take care of this. Otherwise I'm sending in the troops.' ... That's what we did.' On Monday, Trump posted on social media that Los Angeles would have been 'completely obliterated' without his intervention and referred to Newsom as 'Newscum,' a pejorative moniker he has used to refer to the governor. 'We are suing Donald Trump. This is a manufactured crisis. He is creating fear and terror to take over a state militia and violate the U.S. constitution.' — Newsom, Monday, X post. ___ As Newsom promised, California officials sued the Trump administration on Monday, with the state's attorney general, Rob Bonta, arguing that the deployment of troops 'trampled' on the state's sovereignty and pushing for a restraining order. The initial deployment of 300 National Guard troops was expected to quickly expand to the full 2,000 that were authorized by Trump. Late Monday, Trump authorized an additional 2,000 National Guard troops. Ahead of that move, Newsom accused the president of inflaming tensions, breaching state sovereignty and wasting resources, while warning protesters not to 'take Trump's bait.' Teasing the suit, Newsom told MSNBC that he saw the deployment as 'an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act.' Asked Monday about the lawsuit, Trump said it was 'interesting' and argued 'that place would be burning down' without the federal government's intervention. 'I'm very happy I got involved," Trump added. "I think Gavin in his own way is very happy I got involved.' 'I think it's great. Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing." — Trump, Monday, in remarks to reporters. ___ Tom Homan, the Trump administration's border czar, previously warned that anyone, including public officials, would be arrested if they obstructed federal immigration enforcement. Newsom's initial response to Homan, during the MSNBC interview and in subsequent posts on his own social media: 'Come and get me, tough guy.' On Monday Trump seemed to agree with his border chief, telling reporters, 'I would do it if I were Tom.' 'I think it's great. Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing,' Trump added. "He's done a terrible job. Look — I like Gavin, he's a nice guy, but he's grossly incompetent, everybody knows." Homan later said there was 'no discussion' about actually arresting Newsom, but reiterated that 'no one's above the law.' wrote Monday on X that they represented 'a day I hoped I would never see in America' and said Trump's call for his arrest marked 'an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.'
Newsweek
23 minutes ago
- Newsweek
MAGA Supporters Counter Anti-ICE Protests: 'Go Back to Mexico'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Several Donald Trump supporters in Tampa, Florida, have started counter-protests to anti-ICE, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, demonstrations. Video footage posted on X, formerly Twitter, shows a man holding a red "MAGA country" flag chanting "we want ICE" and telling a woman holding a Mexican flag: "If you love Mexico, go back to Mexico." In another clip, a group of men can be seen holding a Trump-Vance banner, before move for a truck coming through. Hundreds gathered outside Tampa's City Hall to protest on Monday, after a weekend of violent clashes between anti-ICE demonstrators and law enforcement. Police intervened during some heated moments between anti-ICE protesters and counter-protesters but there was no violence, according to Tampa broadcaster FOX13. This is a developing story - more to follow.
Business of Fashion
25 minutes ago
- Business of Fashion
Attorney for Deported Makeup Artist: If ‘It Could Happen to Him … It Could Happen to You.'
In a defiant speech, Lindsay Toczylowski, president and co-founder of social justice legal firm Immigrant Defenders Law Center, called the deportation of undocumented immigrants without due process a direct attack on democracy. Her client, Andry José Hernández Romero, a 31-year-old Venezuelan makeup artist seeking asylum in the US, was in March deported to El Salvador, where he was taken to the country's notorious CECOT prison along with over 200 other Venezuelan and Salvadoran deportees. The American Civil Liberties Union, which is suing the Trump administration over its use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport undocumented immigrants without due process, said in court filings that the government relied solely on Romero's tattoos to incorrectly label him a violent gang member. Family and supporters say they fear for the safety of Romero, who is gay and was seeking asylum after being persecuted for his sexual orientation in Venezuela. He has not been seen or heard from since his arrival in El Salvador, including by his legal representation. 'The only fight that we lose is the one we give up on… It's about the future of our democracy and the country we want to live in,' she said, speaking at The Business of Beauty Global Forum in Napa Valley, California. 'His story is the embodiment of it could happen to him, it could happen to me, it could happen to you, it could happen to any one of us. It's why the rule of law is so important. It's why due process is so important.' Toczylowski also addressed escalating tensions in Los Angeles, where President Donald Trump has sent thousands of National Guard and Marines to quell protests against ICE deportation roundups in the city. Opponents of the move, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass, say the decision to send troops was disproportionate to the small number of violent incidents associated with the protests, and will only inflame the situation. On Monday, protests spread to other cities around the country. 'There are more than 200 residents of Los Angeles that have been picked up off the streets,' said Toczylowski. 'I have watched masked agents in plain clothes push people into service elevators in the middle of federal buildings in downtown LA in the last two weeks. This is an all-out assault on the values that we hold as Angelenos, as Californians, as Americans.' She said one of the most important methods of pushing back against the Trump administration's immigration actions, whether in LA or El Salvador, is to speak out against them as often, and as forcefully as possible. 'The moment that we stop talking about [Romero], about his story and others like him is the moment that the Trump administration is successful in completing the disappearance of Andry José Hernández Romero,' she said.
