Trump pushes more ‘extreme vetting’

President wants to scrap diversity visa program

Hours after terror struck New York City, President Trump ordered security officials to tighten the United States’ “already extreme vetting system” and demanded that Congress immediately scrap a visa program for underrepresented countries that let the suspect legally enter the U.S. in 2010.

Trump said the two-pronged response, outlined in tweets and public comments, is needed to ensure no more would-be terrorists infiltrate the U.S. through the legal immigration system.

Both demands immediately drew concerns from critics Wednesday about the wisdom of Trump’s proposed changes, his ability to implement them and what exactly he wants.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said the vetting enhancements should include the collection of more biographic and biometric information from visa applicants, more information-sharing with foreign law enforcement agencies and an “overall heightened scrutiny and more thorough review procedure” for people trying to enter the country.

How that would be implemented is unclear.

The federal government has broad powers to limit or suspend immigration in the name of national security, as it did in the years following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Since taking office, however, Trump has learned he does not have absolute power to limit immigration. His efforts to implement a travel ban against majority-Muslim countries have repeatedly been struck down, or limited, by federal judges.

Immigration experts called Trump’s proposals an overreaction that would do little to improve national security.

Alex Nowrasteh, an immigration policy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute who has studied terrorist acts committed by immigrants, said it appeared that the New York City suspect – Sayfullo Saipov – became radicalized after he arrived in the U.S. from Uzbekistan through the diversity visa program seven years ago.

The diversity program, created by Congress in 1990, uses a lottery to admit up to 50,000 immigrants a year from countries whose citizens are less likely to obtain visas through the normal process.

Of the 2.6 billion foreigners admitted into the U.S. from 2002 through 2016, fewer than 10 terrorists entered as a result of a vetting failure, according to a Cato report soon to be released.

The question now becomes what Trump can do. One possibility is adding Uzbekistan to countries covered by his frequently revised travel ban.