Goodlatte: Obama Administration Abuses Authority in Visa Waiver Law and Jeopardizes National Security

Washington, D.C.  – House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) issued the following statement after the Obama Administration announced that it will apply the limited law enforcement waiver authority in the Visa Waiver Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 to allow entire categories of dual citizens and people who have traveled to Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Sudan to come to the U.S. without obtaining a visa: “President Obama and his administration’s decision to abuse their limited waiver authority and allow scores of people who have traveled to or are dual nationals of countries like Iraq and Syria flies in the face of reason and congressional intent. It’s estimated that 5,000 Westerners – many of whom live in countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program – have journeyed to Syria and Iraq to fight with terrorist groups like ISIS. Congress approved targeted, bipartisan legislation – supported by the White House – that takes reasonable steps to close gaping security holes in the Visa Waiver Program and enhance Americans’ safety. However, the Obama Administration is essentially rewriting the law by blowing wide open a small window of discretion that Congress gave it for law enforcement and national security reasons. In fact, the categories of people that the Obama Administration is exempting from the law were expressly rejected by Congress. This needlessly compromises our national security and the safety of the American people.“Just this week the Department of Homeland Security released a report that over 150,000 Visa Waiver Program visitors overstayed their allotted time here, and thousands of overstayers came from countries associated with terrorism, such as Iran, Sudan, and Yemen. Terrorism has and continues to be a very real threat to our country and it’s unconscionable that the President and his administration continue to weaken the enforcement of our immigration and national security laws.”Background: The Fiscal Year 2016 omnibus appropriations bill contained the Visa Waiver Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 (H.R. 158), a bill to strengthen the security of the visa waiver program in order to enhance national security and Americans’ safety. Below are key components of this law:

• The Visa Waiver Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act of 2015 takes reasonable, commonsense steps to protect national security. It requires dual nationals and individuals who have traveled since March 1, 2011 to certain countries of concern and State Sponsors of Terrorism – including Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Sudan – to obtain a visa before coming to the United States.  This simply means that these folks will have to apply for a visa just like citizens of most nations already have to do in order to come to the United States. The Secretary of Homeland Security is able to waive these provisions for targeted law enforcement or national security purposes.
• Additionally, it allows the Secretary of State to designate additional countries of concern so that travelers to these countries and those who hold dual citizenship in these countries also have to obtain visas before coming to the United States. For example, the Secretary could use this authority if he/she determines that the country has a significant presence of a foreign terrorist organization or that the country is a safe haven for terrorists.
• It contains a number of other security enhancements to the VWP to prevent the program from being used as a fast-track for terrorists to enter the United States.