ISLAMABAD (AP) — When news of the Trump administration's travel ban came down including word that Afghanistan was on the list, Negina Khalili's phone lit up with questions from her family still in Afghanistan and Qatar: What would it mean for them? Were their hopes of someday finding safety in America swiftly slipping away?
Under the travel ban announced Wednesday night, the Trump administration has largely barred Afghans hoping to resettle in the U.S. permanently as well as those hoping to come to the U.S. temporarily for things like university study. There are exceptions — most importantly for the special immigrant visa holders who closely supported the U.S.'s two-decade long war in Afghanistan — but the travel ban comes as other forms of support for Afghans who allied with the U.S. are being steadily eroded under the Trump administration.
“It seems like all the doors are closing,” said Khalili, a former prosecutor in Afghanistan who fled to America during the chaotic 2021 withdrawal.
Many in her family have been trying to come to the U.S. via the refugee program. Her sister, who was a journalist in Afghanistan during the U.S. occupation, is still in Afghanistan with her family and cannot work. Khalili also has family — her father, brother and stepmother — at a U.S. base in Qatar who were part of the way through the refugee admission process when Trump suspended the refugee program on Jan. 20 and they got stuck in Qatar.
News that Afghanistan was included in the travel ban was another blow to the family.
“Last night they sent me the news and said, ‘This is hopeless,’” Khalili said. When she talked to her brother in Qatar he told her: “I prefer to die here and not go back to Afghanistan.'"
Another exception, which applies to all the countries on the travel ban, allows spouses, children or parents of U.S. citizens to enter the U.S. And the U.S. government can decide to admit people on a case-by-case basis if it serves a “United States national interest.”
But beyond these exceptions, Afghans hoping to come to the U.S. are shut out. The language in the travel ban on the refugee program is unclear, said Naomi Steinberg, vice president of U.S. Policy & Advocacy at HIAS, one of the refugee resettlement agencies in the United States. But she noted that the refugee program is already suspended due to a separate executive order Trump signed immediately after his Jan. 20 inauguration.
The travel ban also comes at a time when the Trump administration has already taken steps chipping away at Afghan relocation efforts. The State Department office set up under the Biden administration to coordinate Afghan relocation efforts is being disbanded; the refugee program is suspended; and while Special Immigrant Visa holders can still come to the U.S., State Department funding cuts means there's no longer any money to fly them to the U.S. or help them resettle in the U.S.
Then came the travel ban, sending ripples of fear across the community.
In Qatar, Saliha, told The Associated Press on Thursday that she and her family were preparing for the Eid holiday when Trump announced that Afghans would be among those targeted in his new sweeping executive order.
“We were so hopeful that we’d hear some good news about a way for us to finally come to the U.S. but the news from Trump has only made us more depressed and confused,” said Saliha, who asked to use only her first name out of concern for her safety if she and her family were to return to Afghanistan.
Back in her country, Saliha was a lawyer and part of a generation of women who grew up after the U.S. invasion. She and her family arrived in the Qatar camp in January to be processed as refugees and were hopeful they’d soon be in America. The refugee program suspension left her and hundreds of other families on the base in limbo.
Saliha remains hopeful of finding an exemption for her family. But, she said, “it is really hard to be so far from your home country, awaiting a potential new life and then hearing bad news every other day.”
No One Left Behind, which has advocated for the Special Immigrant Visa program for Afghans, said it was grateful for the exemption for that group but expressed dismay that there were many others who “served shoulder-to-shoulder” with the U.S. that would be left behind because they didn’t qualify for the SIV program.
“This includes those who were injured in the line of duty and were unable to complete a full year of service, the women and men of the Afghan National Army who trained and served with U.S. Special Forces, and many more. They stood by us in war, but now face danger because of their service with no clear way out. We must keep our promise to them as well,” the organization wrote in a statement Thursday.
For decades, Pakistan has hosted a large number of Afghans who have fled conflicts in their homeland. Many of them were reeling after news of the travel ban started to spread.
“This is heartbreaking and sad news,” said one Afghan, who said he worked closely with U.S. agencies before the Taliban returned to power in 2021. He spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the issue, fearing Taliban reprisals and potential arrest by Pakistani authorities.
He said he has been unable to obtain a special immigrant visa despite working for the U.S. Embassy for three years on public-awareness campaigns promoting education. He said his life would be at risk if he returned to Afghanistan, and that he did not know why his application was unsuccessful. He worried the travel ban could encourage the Pakistani government to begin deporting Afghans who are hoping for resettlement in the U.S.
“President Trump has shattered hopes,” he said. “America has the right to shape its immigration policy, but it should not abandon those who stood with it, risked their life, and who were promised a good future."
Another Afghan, Khalid Khan, said the new restrictions could expose him and thousands of others to arrest in Pakistan. He said police had previously left him and his family alone at the request of the U.S. Embassy. “I worked for the U.S. military for eight years, and I feel abandoned. Every month, Trump is making a new rule,” Khan said. He fled to Pakistan three years ago.
“Returning to Afghanistan will jeopardize my daughter’s education," he said. “The Taliban have banned girls from attending school beyond sixth grade. My daughter will remain uneducated if we return.”
The Taliban swept into Afghanistan’s capital in August 2021 after the Western-backed government collapsed. Tens of thousands of Afghans thronged the airport, hoping for a flight out of the country on the U.S. military airlift.
Pakistan previously said it was working with host countries to resettle Afghans. Nobody was available to comment on Trump's latest executive order. There was no immediate comment on the travel ban from the Taliban-run government, which has been hoping for closer ties with the U.S.
Santana reported from Washington and Amiri from New York.
A cyclist passes in front of the former US embassy while a vendor waits for customers, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
FILE - Afghan refugees hold placards during their meeting to discuss situation after President Donald Trump paused the U.S. refugee programs, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed, File)
A cyclist passes in front of the former US embassy while a vendor waits for customers, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, June 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
U.S. President Donald Trump says Iran has proposed negotiations after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic as an ongoing crackdown on demonstrators has led to hundreds of deaths.
Trump said late Sunday that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports mount of increasing deaths and the government continues to arrest protesters.
“The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night.
Iran did not acknowledge Trump’s comments immediately. It has previously warned the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has accurately reported on past unrest in Iran, gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran cross checking information. It said at least 544 people have been killed so far, including 496 protesters and 48 people from the security forces. It said more than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests.
With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
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A witness told the AP that the streets of Tehran empty at the sunset call to prayers each night.
Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”
Another text, addressed “Dear parents,” which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.
The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.
—- By Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Iran drew tens of thousands of pro-government demonstrators to the streets Monday in a show of power after nationwide protests challenging the country’s theocracy.
Iranian state television showed images of demonstrators thronging Tehran toward Enghelab Square in the capital.
It called the demonstration an “Iranian uprising against American-Zionist terrorism,” without addressing the underlying anger in the country over the nation’s ailing economy. That sparked the protests over two weeks ago.
State television aired images of such demonstrations around the country, trying to signal it had overcome the protests, as claimed by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier in the day.
China says it opposes the use of force in international relations and expressed hope the Iranian government and people are “able to overcome the current difficulties and maintain national stability.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said Monday that Beijing “always opposes interference in other countries’ internal affairs, maintains that the sovereignty and security of all countries should be fully protected under international law, and opposes the use or threat of use of force in international relations.”
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz condemned “in the strongest terms the violence that the leadership in Iran is directing against its own people.”
He said it was a sign of weakness rather than strength, adding that “this violence must end.”
Merz said during a visit to India that the demonstrators deserve “the greatest respect” for the courage with which “they are resisting the disproportional, brutal violence of Iranian security forces.”
He said: “I call on the Iranian leadership to protect its population rather than threatening it.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Monday suggested that a channel remained open with the United States.
Esmail Baghaei made the comment during a news conference in Tehran.
“It is open and whenever needed, through that channel, the necessary messages are exchanged,” he said.
However, Baghaei said such talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”
The semiofficial Fars news agency in Iran, which is close to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, on Monday began calling out Iranian celebrities and leaders on social media who have expressed support for the protests over the past two weeks, especially before the internet was shut down.
The threat comes as writers and other cultural leaders were targeted even before protests. The news agency highlighted specific celebrities who posted in solidarity with the protesters and scolded them for not condemning vandalism and destruction to public property or the deaths of security forces killed during clashes. The news agency accused those celebrities and leaders of inciting riots by expressing their support.
Canada said it “stands with the brave people of Iran” in a statement on social media that strongly condemned the killing of protesters during widespread protests that have rocked the country over the past two weeks.
“The Iranian regime must halt its horrific repression and intimidation and respect the human rights of its citizens,” Canada’s government said on Monday.
Iran’s foreign minister claimed Monday that “the situation has come under total control” after a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in the country.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran’s foreign minister alleged Monday that nationwide protests in his nation “turned violent and bloody to give an excuse” for U.S. President Donald Trump to intervene.
Abbas Araghchi offered no evidence for his claim, which comes after over 500 have been reported killed by activists -- the vast majority coming from demonstrators.
Araghchi spoke to foreign diplomats in Tehran. The Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network, which has been allowed to work despite the internet being cut off in the country, carried his remarks.
Iran has summoned the British ambassador over protesters twice taking down the Iranian flag at their embassy in London.
Iranian state television also said Monday that it complained about “certain terrorist organization that, under the guise of media, spread lies and promote violence and terrorism.” The United Kingdom is home to offices of the BBC’s Persian service and Iran International, both which long have been targeted by Iran.
A huge crowd of demonstrators, some waving the flag of Iran, gathered Sunday afternoon along Veteran Avenue in LA’s Westwood neighborhood to protest against the Iranian government. Police eventually issued a dispersal order, and by early evening only about a hundred protesters were still in the area, ABC7 reported.
Los Angeles is home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran.
Los Angeles police responded Sunday after somebody drove a U-Haul box truck down a street crowded with the the demonstrators, causing protesters to scramble out of the way and then run after the speeding vehicle to try to attack the driver. A police statement said one person was hit by the truck but nobody was seriously hurt.
The driver, a man who was not identified, was detained “pending further investigation,” police said in a statement Sunday evening.
Shiite Muslims hold placards and chant slogans during a protest against the U.S. and show solidarity with Iran in Lahore, Pakistan, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
Activists carrying a photograph of Reza Pahlavi take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House, in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Activists take part in a rally supporting protesters in Iran at Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
Protesters burn the Iranian national flag during a rally in support of the nationwide mass demonstrations in Iran against the government in Paris, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
