More than two dozen House Democrats are asking President Obama to further relax new restrictions on who can enter the United States without a visa, even as Republicans say Obama has already broken the law by easing the rules too much.
The Visa Waiver Program Improvement and Terrorist Travel Prevention Act was folded into the year-end catchall spending bill and took effect Jan. 21. It bars foreigners who have recently traveled to, or are dual citizens of, Iran, Iraq, Sudan and Syria from entering the United States without a visa, under a program that allows non-visa travel for people from 38 countries.
Last month, the departments of Homeland Security and State said people falling into those categories may still enter the country without first seeking a visa under certain circumstances, and that each exception would be considered on a case-by-base basis. That outraged many Republicans who said Obama was looking to placate Iran by creating an exemption for people who traveled to Iran on business.
Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and his colleagues, along with civil rights activists, say those exceptions still don’t offer Americans who are also citizens of one of those four countries enough protection.
“It is fundamental to our values as a nation that all citizens are treated equally and without regard to the birthplace of their family,” the 26 Democrats wrote in a letter to Obama dated Thursday.” A U.S. passport should confer to its holder the full benefits of citizenship, but for the first time in the Visa Waiver Program’s history, some of those who hold U.S. passports could be treated differently due to their national origin and ancestry.”
Their concern is the reciprocal nature of the program. If certain foreigners cannot access the program, other counties may place similar restrictions on American dual citizens, or on all Americans seeking to travel abroad through the program.
Huffman said the new law caught many lawmakers off guard and immediately sparked calls from affected constituents.
“It was cleared without much scrutiny,” Huffman said of the provision. “It was the least discussed rider in the omnibus; I doubt even a dozen colleagues knew about it,” he said.
Some Republicans are worried about possible unintended consequences as well.
GOP Reps. Justin Amash, Michigan, and Thomas Massie, Kentucky, co-sponsored bipartisan legislation that would repeal the law’s provisions affecting dual nationals. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., joined Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., in introducing the Senate version.
“If the United States discriminates against Europeans who are dual nationals, these partner countries are likely to reciprocate and enact similar restrictions on Americans,” Amash’s office stated when he introduced the Equal Protection in Travel Act.
European Union officials have already warned that a 2014 EU law mandates a response to such actions. The EU is slated to consider a corresponding move in April.
“[E]ven United States-born citizens, who have limited or indirect connections to countries of concern,” could be affected, Amash stated last month. “It’s not okay to subject Americans to different standards for travel on the basis of ancestry.”
“We should not be denying an individual’s access to the visa waiver program based solely on their nationality,” Flake said when he introduced the bill. “By introducing this bipartisan legislation, we are ensuring that the focus remains on those who should receive a higher level of scrutiny.”
Huffman said he supports the pending legislation, but wants Obama to act now.
“[I]mmediate action is required to ensure our security needs are met without undue harm to American citizens,” the Democrats’ letter reads. “We encourage you to take the additional step of establishing waivers to … ensure uninterrupted access to the Visa Waiver Program for American citizens traveling to Iran for family, academic or tourist related purposes,” the letter states.
Huffman said he thinks the original law was not well thought out, and was intended to score political points more than heightening security.
“Unfortunately what started out as an appropriate focus on the visa waiver program,” as opposed to the refugee program, ended up being “a lot more about politics than actual security,” Huffman said.
Huffman also said the list of covered countries is arbitrary. No Iranian or person who has visited Iran has carried out or attempted to carry out a terrorist act on U.S. soil, unlike Saudi Arabia, Pakistan or Afghanistan, for example, he said.
Fifteen of the 19 Sept. 11, 2001 hijackers were Saudis. Richard Reid, the would-be “shoe bomber,” had visited Pakistan and Afghanistan before attempting to blow up an American Airlines flight en route from Paris to Miami in 2001.
