Nick Smith, June 27, 2004

My House International Relations Committee held an important hearing on the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) on June 16. VWP was created in 1986 and made permanent in 2000. The idea was to accept visitors from certain countries without visas and with minimal security checks. The countries selected to participate had few applicants who were suspect, responsible security measures in place, and reciprocal commitments to treat Americans in a similar way. Then September 11th raised security concerns. While we still trust almost everyone that wants to come to our country, we also need to verify that they are who they say they are and that they are here for legitimate reasons.

Whether they come in through student visas, VWP, or regular visas, we have to do a better job to screen, sort, and keep track of visitors. But we also need to avoid hampering our economy. I have met with businessmen from China, Canada, and other countries who have made regular business trips but now cannot get a visa in a predictable time period. This reduces economic exchange and investment into the United States. Similarly, the Science Committee has considered how America has lost out on highly-qualified science and math foreign students who decided not to study here or stay here after graduation because of difficulties negotiating the visa process.

Our security concerns, however, are real. Some of the 9/11 hijackers were here on student visas. Richard Reid, the shoe bomber, who was a British citizen converted to Islam, was eligible to enter the U.S. on VWP. Zacarias Moussaoui entered as a French citizen under VWP. Ramzi Yousef, who helped plan the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, entered with a fraudulent British passport. A British-born Muslim was responsible for a suicide bombing in Israel recently. The risks associated with VWP countries are no longer as predictable as we once thought they were.

Some of the problems with VWP were addressed by the PATRIOT Act. That law requires VWP-eligible countries to have machine-readable, tamper-proof, and biometrically verifiable passports. However, not every VWP country has been able to implement these new passports as yet. Also under the PATRIOT Act and the US-VISIT program, our Customs and Border Patrol officers have begun fingerprinting all non-VWP visitors. The Department of Homeland Security has announced that they will begin fingerprinting VWP visitors also. While these efforts are important progress, they do not address all of the security concerns.

Fixing the security problem is important because it is costing us jobs. In Michigan especially, there are many Canadians who have jobs and business dealings here, and vice versa. These companies are happy to work with us to ensure our national security, but we risk driving all this work to Canada when we impose unnecessary delays and transaction costs. A clogged up border will mean fewer jobs for Americans.

The ultimate solution involves better technology and procedures. We've already taken some important steps by requiring machine-readable passports and passenger lists from airlines ahead of time. While it must be used carefully, profiling is another important tool. But we need to keep working to implement the technology necessary to process foreign visitors without losing the contribution of talented foreign students or obstructing our economy.

Congressman Nick Smith, a Republican, represents Michigan's 7th Congressional District, which includes Battle Creek and the counties of Branch, Eaton, Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee, Calhoun, and Washtenaw in south-central Michigan.