McCaul, Miller praise new travel restrictions for countries of concern

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Rep. Candice Miller (R-MI) on Wednesday praised the addition of Libya, Somalia, and Yemen to the list of countries of concern.

“I commend Secretary Johnson for adding Libya, Somalia, and Yemen to the list of countries of concern, triggering additional security procedures which will help make America safer.” McCaul said. “It is vitally important that individuals who have recently traveled to these terrorist hotspots are not eligible to enter the United States visa-free. Instead, they must go through additional screening which will help us ensure that terrorists do not exploit the travel system to infiltrate our country.

McCaul expressed concern that the Obama administration was not implementing the changes Congress enacted to the Visa Waiver Program.

Currently, four countries of origin are subject to additional scrutiny in the visa waiver process – Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Sudan. The new additions brings the total of scrutinized countries of origin to seven.

Previously, McCaul and Miller, along with House leaders, sent a letter the president, Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson expressing their concerns on the implementation of the visa waiver program.

https://homeland.house.gov/press/mccaul-miller-on-further-travel-restrictions-for-visa-waiver-program/