Following on from a crackdown on illegal immigration launched soon after he took office, the Trump administration looks set to re-introduce curbs on travellers from a number of countries — including Pakistan and Afghanistan.
According to a Reuters report, the ban would bar people from the listed countries from entering the US, and could come into force as early as next week.
However, Pakistani officials say they have yet to receive anything via official channels, and are waiting for official intimation of the policy before making any comments.
The move harkens back to the Republican president’s first term ban on travellers from seven Muslim-majority countries, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.
Former president Joe Biden had repealed that move in 2021, calling it “a stain on our national conscience”.
Reuters quoted multiple sources as saying that Afghanistan would be on the list, while Pakistan may also be recommended for inclusion. However, they were not aware of the full list.
President Trump had issued an executive order on Jan 20, requiring intensified security vetting of any foreigners seeking admission to the US to detect national security threats.
That order had also directed several cabinet members to submit by March 12 a list of countries from which travel should be partly or fully 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
The new restrictions could affect tens of thousands of Afghans who have been cleared for resettlement in the US as refugees, or on Special Immigrant Visas, because they are at risk of Taliban retribution for working for the US during a 20-year war in their home country.
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”.
“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.” According to the State Department handout, this policy may also cover certain family members of those targeted by the travel ban.