It also would also require countries participating in the programme to share information with USA authorities about suspected terrorists. “Five thousand of them have Western passports, and we know that several of the ISIS attackers in Paris had Western passports, meaning they could have entered the United States without a visa”. “But you have the enemies of freedom who are using our freedoms against us”. “As you can imagine, that leaves us very vulnerable”.
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The US Senate is working on similar legislation limiting the visa waiver program. It requires a higher level of verification in order for a refugee to be allowed in.
“The poll indicates that Trump’s rhetoric, before he proposed the sweeping prohibition on Muslims, might appeal to fears about immigration from the Middle East shared by many Americans”.
Kaine contends that, despite views that America will let tens of thousands of Syrian refugees into the country, the US actually is doing a good job limiting the influx.
The visa waiver program lets citizens of 38 countries travel to the United States without a visa for stays of 90 days or less.
Though it is not known was kind of impact the changes will have on travel, Global Business Travel Association executive director and COO Mike McCormick released a statement on behalf of group on Tuesday, supporting the changes but also warning that “the Visa Waiver Program is needed now more than ever, and policymakers should make sure that the program remains workable, even as they make reforms”.
Separately some lawmakers are also talking about looking at the fiancé visa program utilized by the shooters in San Bernardino, California. The response largely fell along party lines.
“If this bill passes into law, the European Union has warned that it will consider travel restrictions targeting American citizens because the visa waiver program operates on the system of reciprocity”, said National Iranian American Council (NIAC) Action executive director Jamal Abdi.
Washington, D.C.-Congressman Tom Marino (R-PA) voted in favor of H.R. 158 – the Visa Waiver Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 407-19.
“If they visited in the last five years, then they would have to go through the normal visa screening process, instead of the visa waiver process”, explains Marc Rosenblum, deputy director of the Migration Policy Institute’s US Immigration Policy Program.
“We simply can not give people from other countries special access to our country if we don’t have all of the information that we absolutely need to ensure that they are not a threat to national security”, said Rep. Candice Miller (R-Mich.), the bill’s author, Capitol Hill news website, The Hill reported on Wednesday.
Minnesota Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison told the Associated Press that the bill is too broad and should include exceptions for journalists and researchers. Unfortunately, many of these countries are failing to provide the necessary information.
Foreigners without visas must meet certain requirements to acquire weapons here, according to the Congressional Research Service, including a demonstration they intend to make a home in the state where they wish to purchase the firearm.
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He said: “Our focus should be on terrorism, not just country or origin”.
