Congressman Boyle Introduces Legislation to Close Loophole

Washington, DC– Congressman Brendan Boyle (D-PA-13) has introduced common-sense legislation to close a loophole in our national security laws that could facilitate a foreign terrorist's entry into the United States with minimal screening. Specifically, H.R. 4173 would require that any foreign individual who has traveled to Iraq or Syria within the past 5 years may not participate in the expedited U.S. visa waiver program. Instead, under this legislation, any non-U.S. Citizen who has recently traveled to Iraq or Syria looking to come to the U.S. would have to apply for a regular visitor visa, which includes a detailed application, in-person interview at a U.S. embassy or consulate, and fingerprint scans before admittance into the country.

"This is a reasonable step we all agree can and must be taken to secure our borders from foreign terrorists," said Congressman Boyle. "We must do all we can to ensure that security failures of other countries or gaps in security intelligence sharing do not threaten our homeland."

Under the current visa waiver program, citizens from 38 countries, mainly in Europe, may enter the U.S. for 90 days without a visa and its accompanying review. This is genuine national security vulnerability, making us susceptible to foreign fighters able to obtain a visa in one of these 38 countries. According to a report from the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, there are now over 4,000 foreign terrorist fighters from Western Europe – double ICSR's findings in December 2013.

The U.S. Congress and Obama administration continue to evaluate our national security framework in light of the Paris terrorist attacks and other evolving threats. Last week, President Obama announced that his administration will work with Congress to enhance the visa waiver program in several areas. This includes measures like H.R. 4173 to improve our ability to identify individuals who may have traveled to conflict zones to train or fight with terrorist organizations, as well as increasing information sharing between our partners and Interpol, and improving security at foreign airports. Congressman Boyle believes elected officials should come together to address known vulnerabilities. As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, he has closely studied and debated these issues since elected to office in January.