In the wake of news that the State Department has not checked the social media accounts of visa applicants, Rep. Matt Salmon announced his bill that would ensure the Department of Homeland Security adequately vets the social media trails of foreign nationals requesting admission to the United States.
“With the shocking revelation that the U.S. government’s ‘stringent vetting’ failed to stop at least one of the San Bernardino shooters, Americans are rightly questioning the thoroughness of those investigations. One of the most concerning flaws in our system is the lack of a legal requirement to vet the previous public positions of foreign nationals when they request entry. The Vet Electronic Trails Act, which I will soon introduce, will codify in law the commonsense requirement that our immigration officers analyze the social media postings of potential entrants to the United States before allowing them access to our shores.”
According to ACLJ, “Radical Islamic jihadists pledging loyalty to ISIS committed a terrorist attack on American soil in San Bernardino, California. One of them, Tashfeen Malik, had posted numerous social media messages about violent jihad – “She said she supported it [and] she said she wanted to be a part of it.”