President Trump intervened to grant a group of Afghan girls entry to the U.S. for an international robotics competition after they were previously denied visas, according to a report Wednesday.
The State Department had denied visas for six teenage Afghan girls at least twice, media reports have said, but did not say why, citing privacy laws.
Afghanistan is not one of the six countries targeted in Trump’s travel ban, which the Supreme Court permitted to go into limited effect until it reviews the legality of the executive order in the fall.
“The State Department worked incredibly well with the Department of Homeland Security to ensure that this case was reviewed and handled appropriately,” Dina Powell, Trump’s deputy national security adviser for strategy, said in a statement. “We could not be prouder of this delegation of young women who are also scientists — they represent the best of the Afghan people and embody the promise that their aspirations can be fulfilled. They are future leaders of Afghanistan and strong ambassadors for their country.”
Politico reported Trump became aware of the case, and asked officials at the National Security Council to help.
The Department of Homeland Security agreed to let the girls into the U.S. on a system known as “parole,” which will allow them to stay in the country for 10 days.
The girls are competing in the FIRST Global Challenge, which is set for July 16 to 18 in Washington, D.C.
