Echoes of First-Term Policy Threaten Thousands Awaiting U.S. Resettlement
U.S. President Donald Trump is poised to resurrect his controversial travel ban, targeting immigrants from Muslim-majority nations like Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to a Reuters report citing three insider sources. Slated for announcement as early as next week, the ban would block entry based on a government review of countries’ security and vetting risks—reviving a divisive policy from his first term that once barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority states.
The move could spell disaster for thousands of Afghans cleared for U.S. resettlement as refugees or Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders—many of whom risked their lives aiding American forces during the 20-year Afghan war. Trump’s January 20 executive order, demanding rigorous security checks to “detect national security threats,” has already stalled their relocation. Now, with a potential full ban looming, their hopes hang by a thread.
The State Department’s resettlement office is pushing for an SIV exemption, but sources doubt it’ll fly. Some 200,000 Afghans—approved or pending U.S. entry—are stranded across Afghanistan and 90 other countries, including 20,000 in Pakistan, since Trump’s 90-day refugee freeze kicked in. Shawn VanDiver of AfghanEvac sounded the alarm: “Multiple government sources hint at a ban within days. Afghan visa holders need to move now—it could change everything.”
Afghanistan’s inclusion in the ban is all but certain, per Reuters, with Pakistan likely to join the “red list” of fully barred nations. Other Muslim countries might follow, though specifics remain murky. The Departments of Foreign Affairs, Justice, and Homeland Security, alongside the Director of National Intelligence, are spearheading this effort, fueled by Trump’s early-term immigration crackdown. In an October 2023 speech, he pledged to block entrants from Gaza, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and “anywhere posing a security threat.”
This isn’t Trump’s first rodeo. His 2017 travel ban—targeting Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen—faced legal firestorms before the Supreme Court upheld it in 2018. Joe Biden axed it in 2021, decrying it as a “stain on our national conscience.” Now, Trump’s redux threatens to upend lives again, particularly for Afghans facing Taliban reprisals and Pakistanis caught in the geopolitical crossfire.
Last month, the Office of the Coordinator of Afghan Resettlement Efforts was told to wrap up pending cases by March’s end—a deadline now overshadowed by this looming ban. For those waiting, it’s a race against time as Trump’s vision of a fortified America takes shape.