Congress ready to slap on new travel restrictions to fight terrorism

Los Angeles Times ^ | December 7, 2015 | Lisa Mascaro

[KingofZion]

Congress and the White House are poised for a rare agreement in the fight against terrorism with legislation that would slap new travel restrictions on foreign visitors to the U.S. who have recently been to Syria, Iraq, Iran or Sudan.

The bill was given added urgency following the San Bernardino terror attack, even though the proposed changes to the 30-year-old visa waiver program would not stop visitors like shooter Tashfeen Malik, the Pakistani-born woman who entered the U.S. under a separate fiancee visa program in 2014.

Malik and her American-born husband, Syed Rizwan Farook, are responsible for the Wednesday attack that killed 14 people and injured 21. Malik and Farook were killed in a shootout with police hours later. ***

The House legislation, hammered out in private talks between the administration and congressional leaders after the Paris terror attacks last month, would ban visa-free entry of citizens from 38 countries, including most of Europe and several U.S. allies in Asia, if they report on a travel application that they have visited any of the four targeted countries since 2011. Instead, those people would have to apply for entry to the U.S. through the traditional visa process.

It would also require all 38 countries participating in the visa-waiver program to share traveler information with the U.S. In the past, some countries have been slow to provide such information, U.S. officials complain, and under the bill, those countries could be kicked out of the program if they fail to comply. *** “That terrorists are going to self-report is fantasy,” said one congressional aide who asked for anonymity to discuss the ongoing negotiations. “I would not put my faith and confidence in the self-reporting of bad guys. I would much more put it in the information-sharing of our allies.”

[KingofZion]

Good start, but they are missing a few countries. And the self-reporting should be supplemented with foreign intell.

[crz]

Profiling works.

[vmivol00]

That sounds easy for the terrorists....just don’t report it.

[Paladin2]

Shut it all down until Jan, 20, 2017. Then put Cheney in charge of Immigration Policy.

[Iron Munro]

No matter what congress intends, the Obama government always manages to make things worse for Americans and easier for muslims.

[onedoug]

Agreed.