- MUST READS
- PRODUCTS
- RESOURCES
- MULTIMEDIA
- ENFACTLOPEDIA
- FSM AUTHORS
- ABOUT US
- CONTACT US
- FSM BLOG
- DONATE
- PRESS COVERAGE
SEARCH FSM
- IN THIS SECTION
November 29, 2008
Exclusive: Amidst Terror Aimed at Tourists in India, American Travel Industry Seeks Expansion of Visa Waiver Program
By now, most Americans have seen the horrific images of the ongoing terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India. The attacks focused on two luxury hotels plus a Jewish cultural center in this affluent section of India.
The obvious goal of the terrorists was to do as much damage as possible to the economy of the Indian government by convincing travelers that India is not a safe place to visit. The fact that hotels bore the brunt of the attacks this time and on previous occasions makes it clear that the terrorists focused on commerce and tourism to achieve their nefarious goals.
Meanwhile, the executives of the travel industry of in the United States continue to apply tremendous pressure on the administration to increase the number of countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program to boost the number of visitors that they hope will come to the United States, thereby filling seats on airliners, occupying more hotel rooms and spending money on various tourist attractions across our country.
What is unacceptable is that the current administration has gone along with the demands of the ill-informed executives of the travel industry who suffer near-sightedness and don't truly understand the fact that, even with the use of biometric passports, the Visa Waiver Program deprives law enforcement and intelligence agencies the benefits that are inherent in a properly administered visa program.
In reviewing the ongoing situation in India I felt compelled to remind you of the benefits to be found in requiring that foreign visitors be required to obtain visas before setting foot in the inspectors booth at a port of entry in the United States. Those five important benefits are:
1. The process of requiring visas of aliens who seek to enter the United States helps to screen potential passengers on airliners that are destined to the United States. Richard Reid, the so-called "Shoe Bomber" was able to board an airliner to come to the United States although he had no intentions of entering the United States – his apparent goal was to blow up the airliner and its many passengers somewhere over the depths of the Atlantic Ocean by detonating explosives he had concealed in his shoes. Because he is a subject of Great Britain, a country that participates in the Visa Waiver Program, Reid did not obtain a visa before he boarded that airliner.
2. The CBP inspectors are supposed to make a decision in one minute or less as to the admissibility of an alien seeking to enter the United States. The visa requirement helps them to do a more effective job.
3. The application for a nonimmigrant visa contains some 40 questions that could provide invaluable information to law enforcement officials should that alien become the target of a criminal or terrorist investigation. The information could provide intelligence as well as investigative leads.
4. If an alien applicant lies on the application for a visa that lie is called "visa fraud,” the maximum penalty for which starts out at 10 years in jail for those who simply come to the United States to seek unlawful employment or other such purpose. The penalty increases to 15 years in jail for those aliens who obtain a visa to commit a felony. For aliens who engage in visa fraud to traffic in narcotics or commit another narcotics-related crime, the maximum jail sentence that can be imposes rises to 20 years. Finally, when an alien can be proven to have engaged in visa fraud in furtherance of terrorism, the maximum penalty climbs to 25 years in prison. While it may be difficult to prove that an individual is a terrorist, it is usually relatively simple to prove that the alien has committed visa fraud when there is fraud involved in the visa application. Indeed, terror suspects are often charged with visa fraud.
5. The charge of visa fraud can also be extremely helpful to law enforcement authorities who want to take a bad guy off the street without tipping their hand to the other members of a criminal conspiracy or terrorism.
Under the auspices of the Visa Waiver Program, none of the significant benefits to law enforcement or national security apply.
I hope that as the executives of the travel industry follow the coverage of the attacks in India, they will pay attention to the fact that hotels are the focal point of the attacks. I suspect that even the most myopic of those executives will understand that in the wake of those attacks the travel industry in India, and even at other locations around the world, will suffer as potential traveler postpone their trips out of a concern about safety.
If those executives could put aside their greed and desire for immediate profits, they have to understand that measures that compromise safety and national security are against their best interests as well.
The Visa Waiver Program is fraught with peril and must be ended.
The safety of our nation begins at its borders. Our nation's borders are not only to be found at the geographical borders that separate the United States from Canada and Mexico, but any international airport or seaport.
In this perilous era, it is essential that our borders be secured against those who would enter our country to do us harm.
FamilySecurityMatters.org Contributing Editor Michael Cutler is a Fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies and a recognized authority who addresses the implications of immigration on national security and criminal justice. Feedback: editorialdirector@familysecuritymatters.org.
Reader Comments: Submit Your Comment (0)
| Print This E-mail This |
|
