US: Biden administration exempts former Taliban civil servants from terror-related bans

Former Taliban (1996-2001) government civil officials were excused from terror-related bans by US President Joe Biden on October 14, and they will be able to travel to the US. According to Khaama Press, such public officials performed humanitarian acts and continued to do so with the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) and the new Afghan government, which was established in 2001.

The civil servants were engaged under duress or in other difficult circumstances, and they helped to lessen the Taliban's repressive activities in the late 1990s, according to administration's memorandum received by Fox News. Meanwhile, according to Khaama Press, the former Taliban civil servants will neither be exempted from background checks prior to the Taliban's first administration, which lasted from 1996 to 2001, nor from the present screening and vetting requirements for persons entering the US.

The decision was made as the country continues to struggle to evacuate thousands of US-allied Afghans who worked for them over the last two decades. Meanwhile, a number of high-ranking officials—ministers—of the Taliban de-facto cabinet are still on the US's blacklist and face bounties, according to the Khaama Press report.

The Department of Homeland Security is planning to issue a memorandum allowing Afghan civil servants who worked during the Taliban regime to be exempt from terrorism-related inadmissibility grounds (TRIG) if they meet other background and screening requirements, according to a draught USCIS planning document reviewed by Fox News. According to the document, the TRIG exemption authorisation for Afghan civil officials was finalised in the final days of Obama's presidency in January 2017, but it was never announced or applied to any refugees.

Individuals who are members of a terrorist organisation or who have committed acts of terrorism are subject to TRIG, which makes them inadmissible to the United States and ineligible for immigration benefits. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee had urged the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General to look into the evacuation and resettlement procedures last week.

Joe Biden Administration expects to bring in 95,000 Afghans this year

Following the US withdrawal, the Taliban reclaimed control of Afghanistan, and the Joe Biden administration has been sending tens of thousands of Afghan nationals into the United States, including those who assisted the US effort and those who are at danger. During this fiscal year, the administration expects to bring in around 95,000 Afghan citizens.

(With inputs from agencies)

Image: AP