US President Donald Trump is set to introduce a new travel ban which may bar entry for people from Afghanistan and Pakistan next week, sources close to the matter have said. The decision comes after a government review on national security and vetting risks.
Three anonymous sources stated that the suggestion to suspend passengers from those two nations will be delivered by the March 12, in accordance using Trump’s January 20 measure expanding foreign entry checking. Under the order countries not meeting with U.S. security standards are face at least some or total travel ban.
If enacted, the ban would affect close to sixty-thousand Afghans already cleared for U.S. resettlement to be relocated through Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) or refugee programs. Many of these individuals will have collaborated with U.S. forces in the 20-year long war in Afghanistan and are fearing retaliation from the Taliban. 
But a senior State Department official has championed an exemption for SIV holders, but one that is yet to be approved. Organisations helping to get Afghans resettled, #AfghanEvac for instance, are telling visa holders to get out before restrictions kick in.
Pakistan, dealing with its own security worries, is anticipated to be added to the ban, sources said. Trump has been a proponent of tough immigration policies for years, saying he’d ban entry of people from countries he views as security risks.
As thousands of Afghans and Pakistanis are now stuck, the humanitarian and geopolitical consequences of the ban are yet to be seen.
