{"id":1240855,"date":"2022-01-25T22:22:43","date_gmt":"2022-01-26T03:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1240855"},"modified":"2022-01-25T22:22:45","modified_gmt":"2022-01-26T03:22:45","slug":"senate-republicans-bidens-screening-protocols-allowed-terrorist-into-u-s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-republicans-bidens-screening-protocols-allowed-terrorist-into-u-s\/","title":{"rendered":"Senate Republicans: Biden&#039;s &#039;Screening Protocols&#039; Allowed Terrorist into U.S."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fsenate-republicans-bidens-screening-protocols-allowed-terrorist-into-u-s%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1240855&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"subheading\">Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are sounding the alarm over President Joe Biden\u2019s \u201cscreening protocols\u201d for foreign nationals seeking visas to enter the United States after a British national took hostages at a Jewish synagogue in Texas only weeks after being allowed to legally enter the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>On January 15 in Colleyville, Texas, 44-year-old British national Malik Faisal Akram <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/border\/2022\/01\/15\/armed-man-takes-hostages-in-texas-synagogue\/\">took<\/a> four Americans hostage inside the Congregation Beth Israel synagogue. Following an 11-hour standoff, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Hostage Rescue Team was able to rescue all four hostages while Akram was shot and killed by agents.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"D-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B1\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<figure id=\"gmxrevmore\" class=\"H\"><\/figure>\n<p>Since the attack, the Biden administration has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2022\/01\/18\/biden-agencies-dodge-texas-terrorist-allowed-u-s\/\">hidden<\/a> details on how Akram was allowed to enter the U.S. in the first place. The only&nbsp;<a class=\"x5l\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/Zx9vZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">confirmed<\/a>&nbsp;information states that Akram arrived at John F. Kennedy (JFK) Airport in New York City, New York on December 29 via a flight from the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n<p>Despite a lengthy criminal record in the U.K. and his being known to British intelligence agents due to his alleged involvement with Islamic terrorism, Akram arrived on either a tourist visa or through the nation\u2019s Visa Waiver Program (VWP) that allows foreign nationals from 40 different countries to arrive in the U.S., without a visa, and remain for up to 90 days.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_19566098\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/biden-president-joe-biden-gestures-he-speaks-news-conference-east-of-white-house-washingt.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-19566098\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/biden-president-joe-biden-gestures-he-speaks-news-conference-east-of-white-house-washingt.png\" alt=\"President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. (AP Photo\/Susan Walsh)\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\">President Joe Biden gestures as he speaks during a news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. (AP Photo\/Susan Walsh)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In a letter to Biden\u2019s top officials, Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Mike Lee (R-UT), Ben Sasse (R-NE), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Tom Cotton (R-AR), John Kennedy (R-LA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) write that that they are \u201cextremely concerned&nbsp;about the adequacy of our visa adjudication and admission screening protocols.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"M-ROS-B2\" class=\"a8d\"><\/figure>\n<p>The Senators <a href=\"https:\/\/www.judiciary.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/republican_members_to_homeland_security_state_depts.akram.pdf\">write<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>As Akram\u2019s own brother told reporters: <strong>\u201cHow had he gotten into America? \u2026 Why was he granted a visa?<\/strong> How did he land at J.F.K. airport and not get stopped for one second?\u201d [Emphasis added]\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken have been asked to provide information regarding Akram\u2019s government-approved entry to the U.S. \u2014 including his immigration status.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the date of Mr. Akram\u2019s most recent admission to the United States, was he admitted under the Visa Waiver Program or as an alien in possession of a valid nonimmigrant&nbsp;visa?\u201d the senators ask:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>If admitted pursuant to a nonimmigrant visa, <strong>in what status was he admitted and for what period?<\/strong> Was he ever granted a waiver of inadmissibility? Please explain. [Emphasis added]\n<p><strong>In October 2021, the Congressional Research Service stated in a report on the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) that \u201csome observers of the [VWP] have raised concerns about the possibility that terrorists will enter the United States under the VWP<\/strong> because those entering under the VWP undergo a biographic, rather than a biometric (i.e., fingerprint and digital photograph), security screening and do not need to interview in person with a U.S. consular official before embarking for the United States.\u201d&nbsp;<strong>Please specify which criminal or security databases are not checked for VWP travelers<\/strong> as part of the ESTA process, but which are checked for aliens applying for a nonimmigrant visa at a U.S. consulate? [Emphasis added]\n<p>\u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong>Were either of your Departments aware of such criminal history by Mr. Akram<\/strong> at the time of his Electronic System for Travel Authorization, visa, or admission application? [Emphasis added]\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Akram\u2019s entry to the U.S. under the Biden administration is not the first time that seemingly lax vetting protocols for foreign nationals seeking visas have been deployed.<\/p>\n<p>With Biden\u2019s massive Afghan resettlement operation, where more than 75,000 Afghans have been brought to the U.S. in just six months, many were not interviewed before their arrival, as Mayorkas previously<a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2021\/11\/16\/dhs-mayorkas-not-all-afghans-brought-to-u-s-are-interviewed-by-feds\/\"> confirmed<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Likewise, Biden has openly<a href=\"https:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/politics\/2022\/01\/05\/josh-hawley-joe-bidens-dangerous-vetting-policy-for-immigrants-flouts-9-11-commissions-recommendations\/\"> disregarded<\/a> recommendations from the 9\/11 Commission that tout the importance of in-person interviews for foreign nationals. In a policy change, Biden is now allowing those seeking&nbsp;H-1B, L-1, O-1, H-2B, and F-1 visas to skip in-person interviews as a requirement to secure their visas.<\/p>\n<p><em>John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at&nbsp;jbinder@breitbart.com.&nbsp;Follow him on Twitter&nbsp;<a class=\"x5l\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JxhnBxnder\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener external\">here<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are sounding the alarm over President Joe Biden\u2019s \u201cscreening protocols\u201d for foreign nationals seeking visas to enter the United States after a British national &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1240855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1240855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1240855"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1240855\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1240855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1240855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1240855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}