VAAP Condemns Latest Muslim Ban
Statement from the Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (VAAP) on the June 2025 Executive Order Banning Entry from Afghanistan
On June 4, 2025, the Trump administration issued a sweeping Executive Order suspending entry to the United States from twelve countries, including Afghanistan—effectively expanding the original Muslim Ban under a new name. Though framed in the language of national security, the Order is a political act of exclusion, scapegoating communities already subject to extreme vetting and long delays.
Let’s be clear: this is not a response to new threats. It is the continuation of a broader strategy to dismantle immigration protections across the board—including protections that the public often understands as “legal immigration.” Seeking asylum is legal. So is reuniting with your family through a follow-to-join (FTJ) petition. There is no unlawful pathway to humanitarian protection—only efforts by this administration to make it unworkable by design.
The Executive Order blocks both immigrant and nonimmigrant visa processing from affected countries, citing vague justifications like “hostile attitudes” and visa overstay rates. While it exempts some Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) holders, it leaves tens of thousands of other Afghan nationals in limbo—especially family members with pending refugee, asylum, or I-730 FTJ petitions.
Critically, the Order fails to protect the spouses and children of people who have already been granted asylum in the United States, including many of VAAP’s Afghan clients and Vermont neighbors. These family members have already been waiting for years—often in precarious and dangerous conditions—for USCIS or consular officers to process their cases. The Order’s vague language that it “does not apply to individuals granted asylum” appears not to extend to their families, effectively cutting them off.
This new ban arrives in the context of an ongoing dismantling of humanitarian immigration pathways:
The Supreme Court’s CHNV decision rolled back temporary legal entry programs for people fleeing crisis in Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela.
The Board of Immigration Appeals recently revoked key procedural protections for detained asylum seekers who entered more recently.
Ongoing enforcement practices are targeting Afghan parolees and other humanitarian arrivals in Vermont and beyond, exacerbating trauma and family separation.
At VAAP, we are already seeing the consequences. Afghans in Vermont with pending I-730 petitions are reporting panic and confusion. Legal and community partners in Islamabad anticipate further delays and non-responsiveness from consular posts. And we are preparing for yet another surge in emergency requests from individuals stranded abroad or facing deportation risks here in the U.S.
But as with every attack on due process and dignity, VAAP stands ready. Like last Friday—and every day—we know what to do, and we have the people to do it. We gather. We strategize. We mutually support. We deploy. We learn. And we continue fighting—not just for immigrants, but for the broader principles of fairness and freedom that benefit all of us.
We call on Vermont’s congressional delegation to publicly condemn this policy and insist on clear guidance and relief for those impacted. We urge our state government and civil society to step up support for those left behind. And we reaffirm our commitment to defensive practice, litigation partnerships, and national coordination—just as we are doing now through CLSEPA v. HHS and allied efforts nationwide.
This is not about safety. This is about politics. And we will not be silent.
Signed,
Jill Martin Diaz (they/them)
Executive Director
Vermont Asylum Assistance Project (VAAP)
www.vaapvt.org
