Questions surround vetting of shooter
Came to U.S. from Pakistan on special visa for fiancées
SAN BERNARDINO, CALIFORNIA — The woman who carried out the San Bernardino massacre with her husband came to the U.S. last year on a special visa for fiancés of U.S. citizens, raising questions about whether the process can adequately vet people who may sympathize with terrorist groups.
Authorities says that Pakistani citizen Tashfeen Malik, 29, pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group and its leader under an alias account on Facebook just moments before she and her husband, Syed Farook, opened fire on a holiday banquet for his coworkers, killing 14. They later died in a gun battle with police Wednesday.
Malik, who had been living in Pakistan and visiting family in Saudi Arabia, had passed several government background checks and entered the U.S. in July 2014 on a K-1 visa, allowing her to travel to the U.S. and get married within 90 days of arrival.
Malik was subjected to a vetting process the U.S. government describes as vigorous — including in-person interviews, fingerprints, checks against U.S. terrorists watch lists and reviews of her family members, travel history and places where she lived and worked.
The process started when she applied for a visa to move to the U.S. and marry Farook, a 28-year-old Pakistani-American restaurant health inspector who was raised in Southern California.
Foreigners applying from countries recognized as home to Islamic extremists, such as Pakistan, undergo additional scrutiny before the State Department and Homeland Security Department approve permission for a K-1 visa.
It was not immediately clear what information Malik provided as a part of the background check by the State Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or when she became radicalized.
“This is not a visa that someone would use because it is easy to get into the U.S., because there are more background checks on this type of visa than just about anything else,” said Palma Yanni, a Washington-based attorney who has processed dozens of K-1 visas.
“But fingerprints and biometrics and names aren’t going to tell you what’s in somebody’s head unless they somewhere took some action.”
The government’s apparent failure to detect Malik’s alleged sympathies before the shootings will likely have implications on the debate over the Obama administration’s plans to accept Syrian refugees. Attorneys representing Farook’s family deny he or his wife had extremist views.
On Friday, ABC News reported the address in her Pakistani hometown that Malik listed on her visa application does not exist. In response to a question about the ABC report, State Department spokesman Mark Tonner said: “We are actively reviewing all of the information provided in the visa application and sharing it with our interagency partners.”
The vetting process for refugees is similar, though not identical, to the one for fiancé-visa applicants.
“Uncle Sam just looks on as an approving cupid and doesn’t pay as much attention as he should to the issuance of these visas,” said David North, a senior fellow with the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for stricter immigration policies.
Refugees also submit to in-person interviews overseas, where they provide biographical details about themselves, including their families, friendships, social or political activities, employment, phone numbers and email accounts. They provide biometric information, including fingerprints. Syrians are subject to additional classified controls.
Republican lawmakers and governors, as well as advocates for stricter immigration enforcement, have challenged the effectiveness of the vetting process for refugees.
Refugees must apply to become a legal permanent resident after a year. But almost as soon as they arrive, they are eligible to work and apply for some benefits.
Those who come to the U.S. on a fiancé visa must marry a U.S. citizen within 90 days or leave the country.