Van Hollen Announces New Reporting Requirements on the Trump Travel Ban
Today, U.S.
Senator Chris Van Hollen announced that he successfully secured language as
part of the Fiscal Year 2019 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act that would ensure that the public has access to information
on President Trump’s travel ban, including the number of visa waivers granted
to citizens of the banned countries. To date, the administration has provided
no transparency about how the ban is being administered. Senator Van Hollen has
repeatedly raised
concerns
about the travel ban, which may violate our Constitution and immigration law.
“The Trump
Administration has claimed to the Congress, the Supreme Court, and the American
people that their travel ban is not unfairly targeting Muslims and that waivers
are being issued on a case-by-case basis – but they have provided virtually no
information to validate that claim. Instead, the process has been shrouded in
an unusual level of secrecy that raises serious concerns about its legality,” said
Senator Van Hollen. “This legislation will help ensure that the public –
and particularly those American citizens with family and friends in the banned
countries – have the information they deserve.”
The amendment
was included as part of the Manager’s Package and passed with strong bipartisan
support. The text is below:
Visa
Applicants.--- Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, and every 90 days until September 30, 2019, the Secretary of State, in
coordination with the relevant heads of Federal agencies, shall submit a report
to the appropriate congressional committees that describes the implementation
of Presidential Proclamation 9645 (“Presidential Proclamation Enhancing Vetting
Capabilities and Processes for Detecting Attempted Entry Into the United States
by Terrorists or Other Public-Safety Threats”), including the following
information for each designated country: (1) the total number of new visa
applicants per month, disaggregated by country and visa category; (2) the total
number of visa applicants approved and rejected each month, disaggregated by
country and visa category; (3) the total number of pending visa applicants,
disaggregated by country and visa category; (4) the total number of visa
applicants denied a waiver and granted a waiver under section 3(c) of
Presidential Proclamation 9645, disaggregated by country and visa category;
and, (5) the complete reports submitted to the President every 180 days under
section 4 of Presidential Proclamation 9645. For the purposes of such
report, the term “designated country” refers to the Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia,
Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. Such report shall be submitted in unclassified form,
and shall be made publicly available online.
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