Washington, DC – NIAC President Jamal Abdi issued the following statement on President Trump’s decision to reimpose his travel ban next Monday on June 9, 2025:
“Trump’s first bans impacted more than a hundred thousand Iranians, and visa processing has never fully recovered. The impact of the ban will once again be felt by Americans who were denied the ability to see their loved ones at weddings, funerals, or the birth of a child. It will once again be felt by Iranians who, despite significant hardship, secured admittance to U.S. universities and whose hopes will be dashed by an arbitrary denial. And it will be felt by countless individuals who were denied by Trump’s first bans, sat in administrative processing under Biden, and could see four more long years of separation from their loved ones.
“While the administration says the ban will not apply retroactively to existing visa holders, and that it includes exceptions for green card holders, diplomats, dual nationals, athletes attending major sporting events, certain immediate relatives and adoptees, Afghan and U.S. government-affiliated special immigrant visa holders, and a limited category of persecuted minorities from Iran – we remain concerned these carveouts will be narrow, inconsistently applied, and offer little remedy for the vast majority of those affected.
“The return of the ban will not make America safer, but it will deeply harm the countless Americans, including in the Iranian-American community, whose loved ones will be arbitrarily denied visas or experience racial profiling and discrimination at ports of entry based on their heritage. National origin tells us nothing about whether an individual is a terrorist threat. Yet, that is precisely what Trump’s bans have been based on.
“This ban originated from Donald Trump’s first Presidential run when he called for a ‘total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country’s representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.’ When this blatantly unconstitutional approach was blocked by the courts, the first Trump Administration shifted to banning countries that it claimed were not sharing sufficient information regarding visa applicants. It also claimed the bans would be temporary, and there would be a legitimate waiver process – yet neither of these bore out.
“If this administration is operating in good faith, then the U.S. government should proactively pursue diplomatic arrangements with foreign governments to resolve concerns, not using the vast resources at its disposal to slap a blanket ban that punishes ordinary people, including American families.
“The impacted communities will not stop pushing for justice, nor will their allies in and out of government. We look forward to the day when Iranians and others are no longer denied visas solely based on their national heritage, and will redouble our work to get there.”
NIAC is reviewing the full policy as it develops. The ban is set to take effect on Monday and will apply to future visa applicants; it is not retroactive.
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See NIAC’s Travel Ban Center here: https://niacouncil.org/travelban/?cb=1