US President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing a new travel ban that could potentially ban Muslim nations from entering the United States.
Reuters reports that Trump’s requested review of security and vetting risks of foreign countries is nearly complete and to expect a new travel ban, citing three sources ‘familiar with the matter.’
Afghanistan and Pakistan are likely to make the list as well as other of the seven Muslim-majority countries featured in his first travel ban leveled in early 2017.
Former President Joe Biden repealed Trump’s ban in 2021, but new threats of terrorists traveling from the Middle East to the United States has inspired Trump to act again.
Trump said on the campaign trail that he would expand his travel ban to include people from Gaza in the wake of the Hamas terror attack on Israel.
The president is expected to announce several new executive orders later this afternoon as he marches full steam ahead during his first 100 days.
The new ban could affect tens of thousands of Afghans who have been cleared for resettlement in the U.S. as refugees or on Special Immigrant Visas because they are at risk of Taliban retribution for working for the U.S. during a 20-year war in their home country.
Afghanistan will be included in the recommended list of countries for a complete travel ban, said the three sources and one other who also asked not to be identified.
The three sources said Pakistan also would be recommended for inclusion.
