The Senate’s anti-terrorism bill would relax visa requirementsfor foreign travelers coming to the United States, a move that some worry will leave the country more vulnerable to a terrorist attack.
“Nineteen murderers got into the U.S. because of lax scrutiny of their visas,” Rosemary Jenks of the nonpartisan Numbers USA said, referring to the terrorists responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. “Now the Senate wants to eliminate visas for millions more people.”
At least two terrorists involved in the Sept. 11 attacks entered the country under the State Department’s Visa Waiver Program or arrived from a country included in it.
Republicans and Democrats in Congress, as well as President Bush, have broadly embraced the effort that would add 13 more countries to the WVP. It’s part of a larger bill to enact recommendations of the 9/11 Commission.
“There are many countries helping us thwart terrorism around the world, and they should be rewarded for their continued cooperation,” said Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio. “This legislation will improve both our national security and economic interests while helping to solidify these relationships and improve good will toward the United States for years to come.”
Already, 27 mainly European countries are exempt from obtaining visas for travel for up to 90 days in the United States. The anti-terrorism bill would allow the administration to expand that waiver to 13 additional countries that are determined not to pose a security risk.
Senate leaders also have rejected proposals to tighten the visa process elsewhere in the security bill.
Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, has an amendment that would prohibit judicial review of decisions to revoke visas from individuals who are on U.S. soil. Currently, suspected terrorists can stay in the U.S. after their visas have been revoked while courts review that decision.
And Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, has an amendment that would allow the Department of Homeland Security to detain criminal aliens after deportation has been ordered and before their home country agrees to accept them back. Currently, the government has only limited authority to detain criminal aliens during these times.
Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., will not allow consideration of the Grassley or Cornyn amendments, he said, because they’re immigration-related.
“I hope they keep in mind that this is the 9/11 Commission recommendations and not an immigration bill,” he said.
He did not elaborate on why he allowed the expansion of the Visa Waiver Program to stay in the bill since the 9/11 Commission did not recommend expanding it. However, another congressionally mandated commission suggested tightening it by eliminating countries that are “not fully cooperating.”
