- Washington circles expect final list of countries by next week; Afghanistan also set to face curbs
- Move harkens back to curbs imposed on travellers from Muslim-majority countries during Trump’s previous term
- Rubio announces visa restrictions on those facilitating illegal immigration
Washington: The Trump administration is poised to reinstate restrictions on travel from a number of nations, including Pakistan and Afghanistan, in the wake of a crackdown on illegal immigration that was initiated shortly after he assumed office.
The ban, which may go into effect as early as next week, would prevent citizens of the specified nations from entering the US, according to a Reuters report.
Pakistani officials, however, claim they have not yet received any information through official channels and will hold off on commenting until they have received official notification of the change.
The action is reminiscent of the Republican president’s first-term travel ban on citizens of seven Muslim-majority nations, which underwent multiple revisions before the Supreme Court affirmed it in 2018.
In 2021, former President Joe Biden revoked the action, describing it as “a stain on our national conscience.”
Afghanistan will be on the list, according to several sources cited by Reuters, while Pakistan would also be suggested for inclusion. They were unaware of the complete list, though.
On January 20, President Trump issued an executive order mandating more thorough security screening of foreign nationals applying for entry into the United States in order to identify national security risks.
That order had also asked many cabinet ministers to provide by March 12 a list of nations from which travel should be partly or totally suspended because their “vetting and screening information is so deficient.”
Waiting for word
The issue was raised twice during Thursday’s press briefing at the Foreign Office, but spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan sidestepped the questions, saying he had not seen the report in question.
Diplomatic sources in Washington said the Trump administration is currently briefing Congress on the proposed move, which may officially be announced by next week. When approached for comment, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the US Rizwan Saeed Shaikh said they had not heard anything officially.
“We have seen news reports, but nothing received from official channel[s] as yet. Would want to wait for that before commenting,” he said, in response to a query from Dawn.
However, the Council on American-Islamic Relations — a leading Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation — has warned lawful permanent residents, students, workers and other immigrants legally in the United States to avoid leaving the country over the next 30 days.
The CAIR’s advisory says potential countries targeted by the new ban “could include Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Palestine/Gaza, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan,Syria, Yemen or any other country”.
It said that the Trump administration has set Mar 21, 2025, as the deadline for federal agencies to submit a report to the White House identifying countries with “deficient” visa vetting practices whose citizens should be banned from travel to the US.
Bad news for Afghans
Tens of thousands of Afghans who have been approved for resettlement in the US as refugees or on Special Immigrant Visas may be impacted by the new restrictions because they run the risk of facing Taliban reprisals for working for the US during a 20-year war in their homeland.
One source pointed out that Afghans cleared for resettlement in the US as refugees or on the special visas first undergo intense screening that makes them “more highly vetted than any population” in the world.
The State Department office that oversees their resettlement is seeking an exemption for Special Immigrant Visa holders from the travel ban “but it’s not assumed likely to be granted,” the source said.
That office, the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, has been told to develop a plan by April for its closure, Reuters reported last month.
Illegal migration curbs
A day earlier, the State Department had announced a visa restriction policy targeting foreign officials and others facilitating illegal migration into the United States.
In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said countries along the migratory route to the US “must do their part to prevent and deter the transit of aliens seeking to illegally enter the United States”.
He said the new visa restrictions will apply to “foreign government officials, including immigration and customs officials, airport and port authority officials, and others believed to be responsible for knowingly facilitating illegal immigration to the United States”.
As stated in the State Department handout, “this new policy will complement our existing 3C policy, expanded in 2024, pertaining to private sector actors who knowingly provide transportation and travel services designed primarily for illegal aliens traveling to the United States.” Family members of those targeted by the travel ban may also be covered by this policy.
For all the latest news from Oman and GCC, follow us on Instagram, like us on Facebook & subscribe to our YouTube Channel, which is updated daily.
