Polish allegedly a security risk if they join US Visa Waiver Program

A Senate Homeland Security Appropriations bill amendment is in processing to allow Poland to join the countries in the USA Visa Waiver Program (VWP).

The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) alleges the change will cause “..significant increases in immigration, legal and illegal, and heighten national security risks”

In order for a country to join the VWP, a country must have less than 3% of visa applications rejected. Poland is considered a high illegal immigration risk country as it has a 6.4% rejection rate, and Poland is among the top 20 illegal immigrant nations.

SEE ALSO: Poland has EU’s cheapest food (and consumer electronics)

A FAIR spokesman, Dan Stein, claims the proposal to include Poland is a political one, coming from two senators “facing tough election campaigns” looking to appease Polish communities in their states.

They support a repeal of the VWP not just for Poland but for all nations, due to perceived increase in terrorist organisations recruiting VWP members being a threat to national security.

No mention is made of the potential negative aspects of ending the VWP, such a loss of reciprocal arrangements that US citizens would face, or the cost and overhead associated with issuing more than 20 million visas per year for the currently exempt VWP members, or the impact on tourism.

Stein continues:

In an age of massive global migration and global terrorist networks, VWP is a post 9/11 luxury we can no longer afford .. Adding a country, known to be a source of significant illegal immigration to the United States and other countries, would only compound the problem.

The United States should continue to welcome people from around the world who wish to visit our country for legitimate purposes, but only after we establish with reasonable confidence that they do not pose a danger and that they intend to return home before their visas expire. Given Poland’s exceptionally high visa refusal rate and the large number of Polish illegal aliens in the U.S., we must continue to require that Polish citizens obtain a visa before entering our country.



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