Latest news with #Mehria
France 24
a day ago
- Politics
- France 24
Trump travel ban in effect, citizens from 12 nations barred from US
The move is expected to disrupt refugee pathways and further restrict immigration as the Trump administration expands its crackdown on illegal entries. Many of the nations covered by the restrictions have adversarial relations with the United States, such as Iran and Afghanistan, while others face severe crises, like Haiti and Libya. In announcing his restrictions last week, Trump said the new measure was spurred by a recent "terrorist attack" on Jews in Colorado. The group had been protesting in solidarity with hostages held in Gaza when they were assaulted by a man the White House said had overstayed his visa. That attack, Trump said, "underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted" or who overstay their visas. The move bans all travel to the United States by nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, according to the White House. Trump also imposed a partial ban on travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from those countries will be allowed. New countries could be added, Trump warned, "as threats emerge around the world." Mehria, a 23-year-old woman from Afghanistan who applied for refugee status, said the new rules have trapped her and many other Afghans in uncertainty. "We gave up thousands of hopes and our entire lives... on a promise from America, but today we are suffering one hell after another," she told AFP. World Cup, Olympics, diplomats excluded The ban will not apply to athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, or in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Trump's order said. Nor will it apply to diplomats from the targeted countries. United Nations rights chief Volker Turk warned that "the broad and sweeping nature of the new travel ban raises concerns from the perspective of international law." US Democratic lawmakers and elected officials blasted the ban as draconian and unconstitutional. "I know the pain that Trump's cruel and xenophobic travel bans inflict because my family has felt it firsthand," congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, who is Iranian-American, posted Sunday on X. "We will fight this ban with everything we have." Rumors of a new travel ban had circulated following the Colorado attack, with Trump's administration vowing to pursue "terrorists" living in the United States on visas. US officials said suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national according to court documents, was in the country illegally having overstayed a tourist visa, but that he had applied for asylum in September 2022. Trump's new travel ban notably does not include Egypt. His proclamation said Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and war-torn Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen lacked "competent" central authorities for processing passports and vetting. Iran was included because it is a "state sponsor of terrorism," the order said.
The Star
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
'One hell after another': US travel ban deepens despair for Afghans awaiting visas
KABUL: Mehria had been losing hope of getting a visa to emigrate to the United States but her spirits were crushed when President Donald Trump raised yet another hurdle by banning travel for Afghans. Trump had already disrupted refugee pathways after he returned to power in January but a sweeping new travel ban on 12 countries, including Afghanistan, will go into effect on Monday (June 9). The ban changes little for most Afghans who already faced steep barriers to travel abroad, but many who had hung their hopes on a new life in the United States felt it was yet another betrayal. "Trump's recent decisions have trapped not only me but thousands of families in uncertainty, hopelessness and thousands of other disasters," Mehria, a 23-year-old woman who gave only one name, said from Pakistan, where she has been waiting since applying for a US refugee visa in 2022. "We gave up thousands of hopes and our entire lives and came here on a promise from America, but today we are suffering one hell after another," she told AFP. The United States has not had a working embassy in Afghanistan since the Taliban ousted the foreign-backed government in 2021, forcing Afghans to apply for visas in third countries. The Taliban's return followed the drawdown of US and NATO troops who had ousted them two decades earlier in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks. The Taliban government has since imposed a strict view of Islamic law and severe restrictions on women, including bans on some education and work. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have applied for visas to settle in the United States, either as refugees or under the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) programme reserved for those who aided the US government during its war against the Taliban. Afghans with SIV visas and asylum cases will not be affected by Trump's new order but family reunification pathways are threatened, the Afghan-American Foundation said in a statement condemning the ban. Some 12,000 people are awaiting reunification with family members already living in the United States, according to Shawn VanDiver, the president of the AfghanEvac non-profit group. "These are not 'border issues'. These are legal, vetted, documented reunifications," he wrote on social media platform X. "Without exemptions, families are stranded." Refugee pathways and relocation processes for resettling Afghans had already been upset by previous Trump orders, suddenly leaving many Afghans primed to travel to the United States in limbo. The Trump administration revoked legal protections temporarily shielding Afghans from deportation in May, citing an improved security situation in Afghanistan. "We feel abandoned by the United States, with whom we once worked and cooperated," said Zainab Haidari, another Afghan woman who has been waiting in Pakistan for a refugee visa. "Despite promises of protection and refuge we are now caught in a hopeless situation, between the risk of death from the Taliban and the pressure and threat of deportation in Pakistan," said Haidari, 27, who worked with the United States in Kabul during the war but applied for a refugee visa. Afghans fled in droves during decades of conflict, but the chaotic withdrawal of US-led troops from Kabul saw a new wave clamouring to escape Taliban government curbs and fears of reprisal for working with Washington. Pakistan and Iran have meanwhile ramped up deportation campaigns to expel Afghans who have crossed their borders. The Taliban authorities have not responded to multiple requests for comment on the new travel ban but have said they are keen to have good relations with every country now that they are in power -- including the United States. Visa options for Afghans are already severely limited by carrying the weakest passport globally, according to the Henley Passport Index. However, travel to the United States is far from the minds of many Afghans who struggle to make ends meet in one of the world's poorest countries, where food insecurity is rife. "We don't even have bread, why are you asking me about travelling to America?" said one Afghan man in Kabul. Sahar, a 29-year-old economics graduate who has struggled to find work amid sky-high unemployment, said the new rules will not have any impact on most Afghans. "When there are thousands of serious issues in Afghanistan, this won't change anything," she told AFP. "Those who could afford to travel and apply for the visa will find another way or to go somewhere else instead of the US." - AFP
Arab News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
‘One hell after another': US travel ban deepens despair for Afghans awaiting visas
KABUL: Mehria had been losing hope of getting a visa to emigrate to the United States but her spirits were crushed when President Donald Trump raised yet another hurdle by banning travel for Afghans. Trump had already disrupted refugee pathways after he returned to power in January but a sweeping new travel ban on 12 countries, including Afghanistan, will go into effect on Monday. The ban changes little for most Afghans who already faced steep barriers to travel abroad, but many who had hung their hopes on a new life in the United States felt it was yet another betrayal. 'Trump's recent decisions have trapped not only me but thousands of families in uncertainty, hopelessness and thousands of other disasters,' Mehria, a 23-year-old woman who gave only one name, said from Pakistan, where she has been waiting since applying for a US refugee visa in 2022. 'We gave up thousands of hopes and our entire lives and came here on a promise from America, but today we are suffering one hell after another,' she told AFP. The United States has not had a working embassy in Afghanistan since the Taliban ousted the foreign-backed government in 2021, forcing Afghans to apply for visas in third countries. The Taliban's return followed the drawdown of US and NATO troops who had ousted them two decades earlier in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks. The Taliban government has since imposed a strict view of Islamic law and severe restrictions on women, including bans on some education and work. Hundreds of thousands of Afghans have applied for visas to settle in the United States, either as refugees or under the Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program reserved for those who aided the US government during its war against the Taliban. Afghans with SIV visas and asylum cases will not be affected by Trump's new order but family reunification pathways are threatened, the Afghan-American Foundation said in a statement condemning the ban. Some 12,000 people are awaiting reunification with family members already living in the United States, according to Shawn VanDiver, the president of the AfghanEvac non-profit group. 'These are not 'border issues'. These are legal, vetted, documented reunifications,' he wrote on social media platform X. 'Without exemptions, families are stranded.' Refugee pathways and relocation processes for resettling Afghans had already been upset by previous Trump orders, suddenly leaving many Afghans primed to travel to the United States in limbo. The Trump administration revoked legal protections temporarily shielding Afghans from deportation in May, citing an improved security situation in Afghanistan. 'We feel abandoned by the United States, with whom we once worked and cooperated,' said Zainab Haidari, another Afghan woman who has been waiting in Pakistan for a refugee visa. 'Despite promises of protection and refuge we are now caught in a hopeless situation, between the risk of death from the Taliban and the pressure and threat of deportation in Pakistan,' said Haidari, 27, who worked with the United States in Kabul during the war but applied for a refugee visa. Afghans fled in droves during decades of conflict, but the chaotic withdrawal of US-led troops from Kabul saw a new wave clamouring to escape Taliban government curbs and fears of reprisal for working with Washington. Pakistan and Iran have meanwhile ramped up deportation campaigns to expel Afghans who have crossed their borders. The Taliban authorities have not responded to multiple requests for comment on the new travel ban but have said they are keen to have good relations with every country now that they are in power — including the United States. Visa options for Afghans are already severely limited by carrying the weakest passport globally, according to the Henley Passport Index. However, travel to the United States is far from the minds of many Afghans who struggle to make ends meet in one of the world's poorest countries, where food insecurity is rife. 'We don't even have bread, why are you asking me about traveling to America?' said one Afghan man in Kabul. Sahar, a 29-year-old economics graduate who has struggled to find work amid sky-high unemployment, said the new rules will not have any impact on most Afghans. 'When there are thousands of serious issues in Afghanistan, this won't change anything,' she told AFP. 'Those who could afford to travel and apply for the visa will find another way or to go somewhere else instead of the US.'
