Letter to the Honorable Jeh Johnson, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security - Require Social Media Background Checks As Part of Visa Screening Process

Letter

Dear Secretary Johnson:

We write to express our deep concern regarding reports that critical background information of individuals participating in American visa programs has been largely omitted from the visa security screening process.

According to recent reports, the female assailant involved in the San Bernardino terrorist attack may have expressed radical jihadist sentiments on social media platforms before her U.S. citizen fiancé, the male attacker, ‎applied for a K-1 fiancé visa on her behalf. Media reports have also indicated that Department of Homeland Security officials are able to conduct social media background checks as a part of certain immigration programs, but are doing so inconsistently. We believe these checks, focused on possible connections to terrorist activity, should be incorporated into DHS's vetting process for visa determinations, and that this policy should be implemented as soon as possible.

Therefore, we request that you provide the following information so that we may work with you to implement a more rigorous screening process:

Do you plan to integrate social media background checks into the screening process for all visas?
Do you face resource and/or technical barriers to ‎implementing these background checks? If so, please describe them.
Does the Administration conduct social media background checks in any of the existing screening processes for visa programs? If so, please describe how they are conducted.

Ensuring that the screening processes for our nation's visa programs are rigorous and comprehensive must be a top priority, as these programs are critical to our security, our economy, and for our bilateral relationships with nations around the world.

We look forward to working with you to establish a more robust social media background check process for all visitors and immigrants to the United States.

Sincerely,