1/31/2015
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, has said that his department is considering the possibility of further tightening security controls for people from Europe and other countries who currently do not need a visa to enter the country for a limited period of time.
In November, the U.S. government added new screening requirements for travelers from 38 Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries who do not require a visa to travel to the U.S. for tourist or business purposes for fewer than 90 days.
Some U.S. lawmakers such as Democrat Sen. Diane Feinstein have said that the VWP should be scrapped as it puts the country at risk from people belonging to extremist groups such as Islamic State, active in Syria and Iraq, and holding a passport of one of the countries under the VWP.
Johnson said Thursday that to scrap the scheme would be a mistake as it is “an important, valuable program.”
“It is a program that must continue, but there are ways in which the security of the program can be improved, to enhance security while maintaining the integrity of the program,” he explained.
He added that the U.S. was contacting allies in Europe and the rest of the world to encourage them to maintain and share travel information on suspected individuals.
The Homeland Security Department announced two months ago the first set of changes for the 38 countries which benefit from the exemption of visas, including Spain, and Chile, the only Latin American nation in that group.
Since then, travelers from those countries have to provide more passport data, contact information and aliases before they can travel to the United States.
The U.S. estimates that by mid-2014, close to 15,000 foreign fighters had traveled to Syria to join extremist groups, including 2,000 Europeans.
Amid repeated threats by the IS of an attack on the country, the U.S. government fears that fighters who hold Western passports, including its own citizens, could use them to enter the country and launch attacks on its territory.
source
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, has said that his department is considering the possibility of further tightening security controls for people from Europe and other countries who currently do not need a visa to enter the country for a limited period of time.In November, the U.S. government added new screening requirements for travelers from 38 Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries who do not require a visa to travel to the U.S. for tourist or business purposes for fewer than 90 days.
Some U.S. lawmakers such as Democrat Sen. Diane Feinstein have said that the VWP should be scrapped as it puts the country at risk from people belonging to extremist groups such as Islamic State, active in Syria and Iraq, and holding a passport of one of the countries under the VWP.
Johnson said Thursday that to scrap the scheme would be a mistake as it is “an important, valuable program.”
“It is a program that must continue, but there are ways in which the security of the program can be improved, to enhance security while maintaining the integrity of the program,” he explained.
He added that the U.S. was contacting allies in Europe and the rest of the world to encourage them to maintain and share travel information on suspected individuals.
The Homeland Security Department announced two months ago the first set of changes for the 38 countries which benefit from the exemption of visas, including Spain, and Chile, the only Latin American nation in that group.
Since then, travelers from those countries have to provide more passport data, contact information and aliases before they can travel to the United States.
The U.S. estimates that by mid-2014, close to 15,000 foreign fighters had traveled to Syria to join extremist groups, including 2,000 Europeans.
Amid repeated threats by the IS of an attack on the country, the U.S. government fears that fighters who hold Western passports, including its own citizens, could use them to enter the country and launch attacks on its territory.
source
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