U.S. 'diversity visa' programme in spotlight after New York attack

[webfact]

U.S. 'diversity visa' programme in spotlight after New York attack

By Yeganeh Torbati

 

Law enforcement officials investigate an area along West Street a day after a man driving a rented pickup truck mowed down pedestrians and cyclists on a bike path alongside the Hudson River in New York City, in New York, U.S. November 1, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A visa programme aimed at diversifying the U.S. immigrant population came under attack from President Donald Trump on Wednesday after he learned that the man accused of killing eight people in New York City on Tuesday used it to enter the country.

 

Sayfullo Saipov, who was charged in Tuesday's truck attack, immigrated to the United States from Uzbekistan in 2010 after winning a lottery enabling him to obtain a so-called "diversity visa," two government officials confirmed to Reuters.

 

The programme, established by Congress and coordinated by the State Department, has its roots in efforts to bring more Irish and Italian immigrants into the United States. Citizens of countries that send relatively few immigrants to the United States can enter a lottery that grants winners permanent U.S. residency. Applicants must have at least a high school education or its equivalent, or relevant work experience.

 

Just under 11.4 million applicants entered the 2016 lottery for 50,000 slots available to winners and their close family members, according to State Department figures.

 

The visa programme has succeeded in diversifying the mix of immigrants that come into the United States each year, but has also drawn criticism for being vulnerable to fraud and for posing national security risks.

 

Trump said on Wednesday he would ask Congress to "immediately" initiate efforts to kill the programme, and Republican House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, who has long called for an end to diversity visas, said in a statement that they pose "a threat to the safety of our citizens."

 

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer helped create the programme in 1990 when he was a member of the House of Representatives. But he was also part of a group of lawmakers in 2013 who crafted a bipartisan immigration bill that would have done away with the programme. That bill was passed by the Senate but was killed by the Republican-led House.

 

Top congressional Democrats on Wednesday defended the programme, saying it subjects all visa recipients "to the same stringent vetting as all other immigrant visa programs."

 

The only other known instance of a diversity visa beneficiary carrying out a deadly terrorist attack in the United States occurred in 2002. That year, an Egyptian man who had received a diversity visa through his wife years earlier shot and killed two people in a Los Angeles airport. The man had earlier sought asylum in the United States but was rejected. Ultimately, he was allowed to stay in the country after his wife won the lottery.

 

As early as 2004, the State Department's then-deputy inspector general, Anne Patterson, told Congress her office believed the diversity programme "contains significant vulnerabilities to national security" and that terrorists could "attempt to use it to enter the United States as permanent residents." The agency watchdog recommended barring citizens of countries that sponsor terrorism from the programme.

 

Over the years, government audits have exposed sophisticated fraud schemes targeting the programme, including extortion rackets, sham marriages and the use of fake identification documents.

 

In 2007, Congress's Government Accountability Office issued a report noting that federal law enforcers "believe that some individuals, including terrorists and criminals, could use fraudulent means to enter or remain in the United States."

 

The report found, however, "no documented evidence" that diversity visa immigrants "posed a terrorist or other threat."

 

A September 2013 State Department inspector general report found that "organized fraud rings masquerading as travel agencies" had hijacked the diversity visa programme in Ukraine. Under the scheme, Ukrainians were entered in the lottery without their consent, and then held up for money in exchange for the chance to claim a visa or encouraged to enter into sham marriages if they won.

 

(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; editing by Sue Horton and Jonathan Oatis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-11-02

[FreddieRoyle]

Seriously? What a totally bonkers scheme. In mainstream news we have this never ending somebody is in collusion with " the enemy" 24/7 and here right in front of us is actually a senior politician that has successfully flooded the motherland with enemy combatants and terrorists. It's beyond bizarre you just couldn't make such a scenario up.

 

[Samui Bodoh]

9 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

Seriously? What a totally bonkers scheme. In mainstream news we have this never ending somebody is in collusion with " the enemy" 24/7 and here right in front of us is actually a senior politician that has successfully flooded the motherland with enemy combatants and terrorists. It's beyond bizarre you just couldn't make such a scenario up.

 

 

" In mainstream news we have this never ending somebody is in collusion with " the enemy" 24/7 and here right in front of us is actually a senior politician that has successfully flooded the motherland with enemy combatants and terrorists. It's beyond bizarre you just couldn't make such a scenario up."

 

"...a senior politician that has successfully flooded the motherland with enemy combatants and terrorists."

 

I fully agree that you couldn't just make that scenario up...

 

...yet somehow you have.

 

Wow.

 

 

[brewsterbudgen]

I remember applying in the visa lottery once, many years ago, as although being British and therefore ineligible, I was born in Rhodesia which apparently overrode this! My application didn't get past the first stage.

Shameful, but not surprising, to see Trump and the right politicizing a terrorist attack.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[IAMHERE]

The left does their fair share of politicizing.

[jcsmith]

11 hours ago, brewsterbudgen said:

Shameful, but not surprising, to see Trump and the right politicizing a terrorist attack.

Yeah, it's a shame. This is the same group of people who kept saying that it wasn't the time to talk about climate change during the hurricane season... And that it wasn't the time to talk about gun control in the aftermath of what happened in Vegas. But now is apparently the time here...

[ilostmypassword]

11 hours ago, FreddieRoyle said:

Seriously? What a totally bonkers scheme. In mainstream news we have this never ending somebody is in collusion with " the enemy" 24/7 and here right in front of us is actually a senior politician that has successfully flooded the motherland with enemy combatants and terrorists. It's beyond bizarre you just couldn't make such a scenario up.

 

"flooded the motherland with enemy combatants and terrorist"

Are you allergic to water? Is your idea of a flood something that barely wets the soles of your feet? In 2017, according to the various sources I searched there are no deaths so far from islamist terrorists in the USA. 0. Nada Zilch. So, come to think of it, your idea of what constitutes a flood is actually indistinguishable from a desert.

[hawker9000]

On ‎11‎/‎1‎/‎2017 at 5:08 PM, brewsterbudgen said:

I remember applying in the visa lottery once, many years ago, as although being British and therefore ineligible, I was born in Rhodesia which apparently overrode this! My application didn't get past the first stage.

Shameful, but not surprising, to see Trump and the right politicizing a terrorist attack.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

"Shameful, but not surprising, to see Trump and the right politicizing a terrorist attack"

 

LOL. If Trump didn't bring it up, the major media wouldn't even mention it!   And yeah, like wingnuts don't politicize every time a gun goes off:  you're trying for the Hypocrites Wall of Fame, right?    Puh-leeeeeeeez...  

 

 

 

[brewsterbudgen]

6 minutes ago, hawker9000 said:

"Shameful, but not surprising, to see Trump and the right politicizing a terrorist attack"

 

LOL. If Trump didn't bring it up, the major media wouldn't even mention it!   And yeah, like wingnuts don't politicize every time a gun goes off:  you're trying for the Hypocrites Wall of Fame, right?    Puh-leeeeeeeez...  

 

 

 

I think you'll find all the "major media" have mentioned ISIS/terrorism/visa diversity program.  Trump is the President and, like in the Bowe Bergdahl case, his politicizing comments were disgraceful.  Not surprising really, as his whole Presidency has been a disgrace!

[hawker9000]

1 hour ago, brewsterbudgen said:

I think you'll find all the "major media" have mentioned ISIS/terrorism/visa diversity program.  Trump is the President and, like in the Bowe Bergdahl case, his politicizing comments were disgraceful.  Not surprising really, as his whole Presidency has been a disgrace!

ROFL.  Oh really.  They "mentioned it".   Yeah, I guess they probably did "mention it".  I probably blinked.

 

Disgraceful as you may find the current presidency, the bar was set so low by his predecessor (and was non-existent as far as his opponent was concerned, as Bernie Sanders supporters will now loudly inform you....)  it hardly even matters any more.   Actually, "disgraceful" is just juvenile loser petulance talking though.

Edited November 5, 2017 by hawker9000