House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., announced Monday the committee will introduce legislation to strengthen the visa security process after the federal government admitted that it does not examine the social media accounts of immigrants.
“Terrorists have and will continue to exploit our legal immigration system in order to cause harm to Americans and threaten our way of life … we have a duty to strengthen the security of our immigration system so that we keep bad actors out of the United States,” the Virginia Republican said in a statement.
The bill says open source information, such as social media content, must be considered as part of background checks for visa applicants, including those applying for the K-1 visa program. It also would require in-person interviews for the visa applicant and sponsor at each step in the process and the verification of employment and educational histories.
The legislation is a response to alleged weaknesses in the visa program that allowed Tashfeen Malik, one of the terrorists in the San Bernardino mass shooting, to enter the U.S. despite admitting on social media she held radical views.
The State Department admitted Monday that officials are not required to examine the social media accounts of visa applicants, but declined to say if that’s the reason why officials failed to realize that Malik sympathized with the Islamic State.
“Obviously, things went wrong, it’s difficult to say exactly what and how,” said State Department spokesman John Kirby. “Obviously, I think it’s safe to say there’s going to be lessons learned here. By whom and for whom, I just don’t know right now.”
The Department of Homeland Security doesn’t look at social media accounts of visa applicants either, according to a former department official.
The House Judiciary Committee said it would introduce its bill soon.
