On June 4, the President of the United States issued an executive order to institute a “travel ban,” effective June 9, 2025.
The ban will completely suspend the entry of citizens from twelve countries and significantly restrict the entry of citizens from seven other countries on the basis of their nationality.
Starting June 9, people from Afghanistan, Myanmar (Burma), Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen will no longer be able to enter the United States.
The seven countries where people will now face partial restrictions and limited entry into the United States include Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
Afghanistan was in the top five countries of origin for Tahirih clients in 2024. Other countries included on the list are experiencing devastating break downs in law and order and are increasingly unsafe for civilians, especially women and girls.
It is important to note that, according to the executive order, visas already granted should not be revoked on the basis of this policy and the restrictions apply only to people that were outside the United States and without a valid visa as of June 4, 2025. The ban also provides certain exceptions for Afghan special immigrant visa holders and some persecuted minorities from Iran.
Regardless of the exemptions, this travel ban policy is xenophobic on its face and the harmful impacts on individuals and families will ripple around the world.
Impact on Survivors
The impact of this travel ban will be particularly devastating for immigrant survivors and their families. Not only will it trap vulnerable people and survivors in countries that do not and cannot protect them from life threatening gender-based violence and persecution, but it will also prevent the family members of immigrant survivors – including those granted asylum – from joining them in the United States. This is heartbreaking for survivors who are often forced to leave behind children, parents, and other family members when they flee to safety in the United States in hopes they could help be their bridge to safety in the future. Survivors now must watch in horror as their loved ones remain trapped in countries where governments are collapsing, violence is unchecked, civil war is imminent, and scarcity is increasing – all factors that often increase the prevalence of and vulnerability to violence against women.
Further, survivors who receive asylum in the United States and other immigrant survivors that Tahirih serves often report that abusers and perpetrators – including government and non-government actors – threaten not only them, but their family members, with harm if they do not capitulate to demands and accept abuse. Now such threats will be even more potent for those survivors with family and loved ones subject to the travel ban.
Such travel ban policies are not only discriminatory, but there is also no doubt that survivors of gender-based violence and persecution and those desperately seeking safety from harm and opportunity for safety and independence will suffer as a result.
Litigation to challenge this new policy is likely, and we will update this post as the situation evolves.
