A new travel ban by President Donald Trump could bar people from Afghanistan and Pakistan from entering the U.S. as soon as next week based on a government review of countries’ security and vetting risks, Reuters reported on Thursday.

Other countries could also be on the list but did not know which ones, according to the report which cited three unidentified sources.

The move harkens back to the Republican president’s first term ban on travelers from seven majority-Muslim nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.

Former President Joe Biden, a Democrat who succeeded Trump, repealed the ban in 2021, calling it “a stain on our national conscience.”

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 and who worked for the U.S. during a 20-year war in their home country.

Trump issued an executive order on January 20 requiring intensified security vetting of any foreigners seeking admission to the U.S. to detect national security threats.

That order directed several cabinet members to submit by March 12 a list of countries from which travel should be partly or fully suspended because their “vetting and screening information is so deficient.”

Afghanistan will be included in the recommended list of countries for a complete travel ban, Reuters reported.

Pakistan also would be recommended for inclusion.

One source pointed out that Afghans cleared for resettlement in the U.S. as refugees or on the special visas first undergo intense screening that makes them “more highly vetted than any population” in the world.

The State Department office that oversees their resettlement is seeking an exemption for Special Immigrant Visa holders from the travel ban “but it’s not assumed likely to be granted,” the source said.

That office, the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, has been told to develop a plan by April for its closure, Reuters reported last month.

Trump’s directive is part of an immigration crackdown that he launched at the start of his second term.

He previewed his plan in an October 2023 speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and “anywhere else that threatens our security.”

Shawn VanDiver, the head of #AfghanEvac, a coalition of groups that coordinates evacuation and resettlement of Afghans with the U.S. government, urged those holding valid U.S. visas to travel as soon as possible if they can.

“While no official announcement has been made, multiple sources within the U.S. government suggest a new travel restriction could be implemented within the next week,” he said in a statement.

This “may significantly impact Afghan visa holders who have been awaiting relocation” to the U.S., he said.

There are some 200,000 Afghans who have been approved for U.S. resettlement or have pending U.S. refugee and Special Immigrant Visa applications. They have been stranded in Afghanistan and nearly 90 other countries – including about 20,000 in Pakistan – since January 20, when Trump ordered a 90-day freeze on refugee admissions and foreign aid that funds their flights.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has scheduled a meeting on Afghanistan for next week, which will include a briefing on the situation by Roza Otunbayeva, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of UNAMA.

Christina Markus Lassen, Denmark’s Permanent Representative to the UN, will chair the meeting.

Lassen said: “Two additional sessions on Afghanistan are scheduled for March: one quarterly meeting and another for consultations on extending UNAMA’s mandate in Afghanistan.”

Lassen added: “The first session, on March 10, will focus on the human rights situation of Afghan women and girls, with civil society activists invited to participate.”

UN agencies have not disclosed details of Otunbayeva’s report, but it is believed to center on human rights, particularly the rights of women and girls.

Germany’s Foreign Minister meanwhile criticized the ongoing restrictions on women and girls in Afghanistan, warning that these measures “will not remain without consequences.”

The UN Settlement Programme, ahead of March 8 (International Women’s Day), emphasized solidarity with Afghan women and girls. The agency stated it would mark the day by reaffirming its “commitment to the rights, participation, and empowerment” of Afghan women.

Stephanie Loos, the agency’s representative in Afghanistan, stated that access to services such as education, healthcare, and clean water has a significant impact on the lives of Afghan women and girls.

This comes as the Islamic Emirate has described UNAMA’s work and mission in Afghanistan as neither “effective nor successful.”

The Islamic Emirate’s spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid says acting Minister of Interior Affairs Sirajuddin Haqqani has returned to the country after receiving medical treatment.

Mujahid said Haqqani is currently resting.

Mujahid made these remarks on Wednesday in an interview with Ariana News.

This comes after reports emerged that Sirajuddin Haqqani was in the United Arab Emirates and then in Saudi Arabia.

On the issue of Daesh, Mujahid stated that the group has established a training center in the Mastung district of Pakistan’s Balochistan province. He said the training center is being funded by Islamabad and supported by the country’s military.

He said: “It appears that they [Pakistan] are using the Daesh phenomenon as a tool to advance their own objectives.”