US judge blocks Trump administration from using travel ban to stop Afghan refugee family reunions

30 July 2026 — A federal judge in the United States has ruled that the Trump administration cannot use its travel ban policy to prevent the entry of spouses and children of Afghan refugees who have already been granted asylum in the country. Judge Anthony J. Trenga said the State Department’s policy of blocking travel documents for family members of Afghan asylum seekers was unlawful. The case was brought by seven Afghan nationals who received asylum in the US after the fall of Kabul in 2021 and later applied to bring their spouses and children through a family reunification programme. Although the applications had been approved by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the State Department had halted or rejected the issuance of travel documents, citing the travel ban. Under the ruling, the US government must issue travel documents for five family members within 15 days and reconsider two other cases without applying restrictions linked to the travel ban. The judge said the decision does not cancel the Trump administration’s travel ban entirely, but applies only to the spouses and children of people who have already received asylum in the US and whose family reunification requests have been approved.