The visa waiver program allows citizens of participating countries, including many in Europe, to travel to the United States without a visa.
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Despite a veto threat from the White House and uncertainty in the Senate, House Republicans plan a vote Thursday on a bill that would prevent Syrian and Iraqi refugees from entering the United States unless USA government officials verify they don’t pose a security threat.
One attacker held a Syrian passport, sparking fears about refugees pouring out of that war-torn country.
A bipartisan proposal to limit the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) is gaining traction this week in Washington, in the wake of the Paris attacks that left 129 dead last Friday. When the program was going under similar though less intense scrutiny earlier this year, former Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff told a congressional panel that “I firmly believe that any withdrawal or departure from the Visa Waiver Program would be a huge mistake….Constructed in a way to powerfully reduce vulnerabilities in our immigration and travel system, it is my belief that the Visa Waiver Program offers significant benefits to us national and economic security and should not be pulled back in a time like this but further evaluated for ways that can strengthen our security and the benefits it may yield”. “That has lawmakers anxious”. He was detained on New Year’s Eve 1999 by a suspicious border guard while trying to enter the U.S. Ressam’s vehicle was full of explosives that authorities said he meant to use at Los Angeles global Airport.
“For me it was really easy I have to answer a few questions are you going to do anything wrong, I say no, no, no, and that’s it”, he said.
Texas Republican Rep. Brian Babin drafted a letter signed by 56 other House GOP members urging Ryan to include language in that bill to block all taxpayer money for the program that would allow any refugees from Syria, the Middle East and North Africa until a series of conditions are met, including sign off from national security agencies. Bob Corker, R-Tennessee, said after a Wednesday briefing on the terror attacks. And if an individual’s name were to be flagged during a flight manifest check, which is separate from the electronic system and is done on all travelers including USA citizens, they can be denied boarding.
“This would not say that they can’t get a visa”, Flake told the Arizona Republic.
Since 2012, there have been 1,854 Syrian refugees admitted to the U.S. President Obama has said that we will take in an additional 10 thousand in the fiscal year 2016.
Democrats are eyeing another bill as well: Sen.
“It’s time to close this loophole that terrorists could very easily exploit to get guns and use them to kill in this country”, Durbin said.
“We will not have a religious test, only a security test”, Ryan said.
In addition to the long process, Flake said only about 2 percent of refugees fit a “profile we ought to worry about:” Military-aged men with no familial ties.
Generally, he said, “foreign countries have no reasons to share information with us” in the absence of certain incentives.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, and Sen. One proposal would make people who’d traveled to Syria and Iraq ineligible for those waivers.
Western Europe poses a particular challenge, in part because aspiring militants can draw on more established jihadist networks.
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“Not only are these two priorities not mutually exclusive, they are actually interdependent”, Murphy said. And secondly even if you know that, can you actually track all these individuals?
