“This sweeping ban doesn’t just shut doors—it severs families, abandons allies, and shatters trust.”

June 4, 2025

The Afghan-American Foundation strongly condemns President Trump’s sweeping travel ban, which includes a full entry ban on Afghan nationals. While the executive order does not explicitly bar entry for individuals in Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) or asylum pipelines, it imposes broad visa restrictions that will significantly hinder family reunification and prevent countless Afghan allies from reaching safety.

This policy sends a chilling message to those who supported U.S. efforts in Afghanistan—interpreters, civil society leaders, journalists, and others who risked everything to stand alongside American forces and values. Many were evacuated by the U.S. government and are now rebuilding their lives in the United States. Yet their spouses, children, and loved ones remain stranded, now further shut out by this unjust action.

The timing of this decision is particularly troubling. Just weeks ago, the United States ended Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Afghans, arguing that conditions in Afghanistan had improved. Now, this new executive order designates the Taliban as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group, acknowledging the threat and repression that persists in the country. These two actions cannot logically or morally coexist. If the Taliban are terrorists, how can it be safe to return Afghans to their rule?

This is more than a policy contradiction. It is a betrayal of American commitments, values, and the very people who upheld them under the most dangerous of circumstances. Afghan families—those who sacrificed for the promise of safety—deserve protection, not abandonment.

The Afghan-American Foundation will join our allies and coalition partners across the country to challenge this policy. We call on policymakers, faith leaders, veterans, human rights advocates, and the public to stand up against this ban and defend the rights and dignity of our Afghan allies and other vulnerable communities

.Our country made a promise. We are here to ensure it keeps it.

For media inquiries, please contact: info@afghanamericans.org