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Trump issues travel ban, bars Afghans from entry into US

Trump issues travel ban, bars Afghans from entry into US

Yahoo05-06-2025
President Donald Trump issued an executive order Wednesday blocking Afghan nationals from entering the U.S., another blow to Afghan allies seeking refuge in a country that has provided fewer and fewer pathways for their safety.
The order, which goes into effect June 9, will fully suspend immigrant and nonimmigrant visas for 12 locations the current administration said uses deficient vetting processes that jeopardize U.S. national security.
'The Taliban, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group, controls Afghanistan,' the order read. 'Afghanistan lacks a competent or cooperative central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and it does not have appropriate screening and vetting measures.'
The order also cited an Afghanistan business and tourist visa overstay rate of 9.7%, and a student, vocational and exchange visitor visa overstay rate of 29.3% as reasons for the ban.
Afghan allies who helped the U.S. military during the Afghanistan War, as well as relatives of U.S. service members, are currently stranded in Afghanistan and fear for their lives due to Taliban retaliation, Military Times previously reported.
Shawn VanDiver, CEO of the Afghan relocation advocacy group AfghanEvac, slammed the presidential directive in a publicly released statement.
DHS ends deportation protections for Afghans
'The Trump administration's latest Executive Order may claim to be about national security — but make no mistake: this is a political stunt disguised as policy,' he said. 'It reinstates a sweeping ban on entry for Afghan nationals and others, while quietly dismantling the very systems that have kept our country safe.'
Afghans who hold special immigrant visas are exempt from the ban, the order stated.
VanDiver said the exception was 'really good news,' but at the same time, the recently announced termination of Operation Enduring Welcome and the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts office — the program and facilitator of Afghan relocation efforts — muddied that relief.
'The headline, 'Travel ban includes exemption for SIVs,' is the smoke,' VanDiver told Military Times over the phone. 'The fire is, 'Oh, by the way, we dismantled all the things that allow you to process, that allow you to relocate.''
VanDiver said he was concerned the closure of those resettlement mechanisms, which would affect nearly 300,000 Afghan nationals, would make it so that only SIV holders with wealth or connections would find their way to the U.S.
'That's not who we are as America,' he said.
Other exemptions include green card holders, foreign nationals with valid nonimmigrant visas and unique classifications listed in the executive order, athletes traveling for the World Cup or other State Department-approved sporting events, immediate family immigrant visas with clear evidence of identity and family relationship, adoptions, U.S. government employees with an SIV and immigrant visas for ethnic and religious minorities facing persecution in Iran.
Afghan refugees who fall within the purview of the United States Refugee Admissions Program were not exempt.
Trump signed an executive order suspending USRAP on Jan. 20.
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Trump Gets Silver Lining in New Poll As More Voters Approve of Economy
Trump Gets Silver Lining in New Poll As More Voters Approve of Economy

Newsweek

time28 minutes ago

  • Newsweek

Trump Gets Silver Lining in New Poll As More Voters Approve of Economy

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. President Donald Trump can take heart from a new Fox News poll that shows rating for the economy improving and feelings on the economic direction inching up even though a majority of voters disapprove of the job he is doing, dislike his new budget law, and doubt his dealings with Iran are making the U.S. safer. The poll was conducted from July 18-21 and is based on interviews with a sample of 1,000 randomly selected voters. Why It Matters The poll is a wide-ranging survey of voter feelings six months after Trump began his second term and comes as his administration is engulfed in a political crisis over the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The poll found that only 13 percent of respondents think the government has been open and transparent about the case. President Donald Trump bangs a gavel after signing the "Big Beautiful Bill Act" at the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2025. President Donald Trump bangs a gavel after signing the "Big Beautiful Bill Act" at the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 4, 2025. Brendan SMIALOWSKI / POOL / AFP/Getty Images What To Know Thirty-two percent of voters rate economic conditions positively, the Fox poll shows. That is the highest number, by one percentage point, in about a year. On a personal level, 44 percent rate their financial situation positively, up from 39 percent in March and 38 percent in December. The poll found that 71 percent of respondents said inflation caused them financial hardship in the last six months but that is the lowest number since 2021, and down from a high of 78 percent in 2022, Fox said. 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