Grassley Works to Close Loophole that Allows Terrorists to Stay in U.S.
WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley today introduced legislation to close a loophole in U.S. visa policy that could allow foreign nationals remain in the United States after they have had their visa revoked.
Since 2001, the Government Accountability Office has repeatedly sounded the alarm about the weaknesses of the visa revocation process. Their investigations revealed the extreme difficulty the United States has in deporting suspected terrorists already on U.S. soil if their visa is revoked on terrorism grounds.
"Current law handicaps our law enforcement and makes it nearly impossible to deport a potential terrorist if they are already in the United States," Grassley said. "We shouldn't allow suspected terrorists to take advantage of our court system and exploit our laws. Revocations can be a useful anti-terrorism tool that can better project the security of our borders and our nation."
Grassley said that a change in law is needed so that people who wish to do Americans harm are deported, and our nation's intelligence is protected.
If the federal government determines that a visa must be revoked for an individual already on U.S. soil, such individual could be allowed to block deportation using the United States court system.
The bill would treat visa revocations similar to visa denials because the right of that person to be in the United States is no longer valid. If an individual is denied a visa by the consular officer, there's no judicial review of that decision. The Grassley bill applies the same standard for individuals on U.S. soil who should not have been granted a visa, limiting their rights to judicial review of such a decision.
The legislation is cosponsored by Senators David Vitter of Louisiana, Orrin Hatch of Utah, John Cornyn of Texas, Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Pat Roberts of Kansas.-30-
