Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Nations targeted by U.S. for high rates of visa overstays account for small number of violators
Source: Washington Post
Nations targeted by U.S. for high rates of visa overstays account for small number of violators
By Maria Sacchetti and Kevin Uhrmacher April 24 at 3:28 PM
The White House shifted its focus this week from the surge of families crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who arrive in the United States legally and then illegally remain in the country after their visas expire.
Though President Trump has fixated on the rising numbers of Central American families claiming asylum at the southern border, he also promised during his campaign that deporting those who overstay their legal visas would be a priority for his administration.
Trump on Monday issued a presidential memo that declared visa overstay rates “unacceptably high” and calling them a “widespread problem.” On the basis of a recent Homeland Security report, he instructed federal agencies to consider action against countries that have business and tourism travelers — using the popular B1 and B2 visas — who overstay at a rate higher than 10 percent.
Twenty countries have overstay rates higher than 10 percent, according to the Homeland Security report. Except for Syria and Nigeria, these countries accounted for fewer than 1,000 overstayers each.
-snip-
But some analysts say targeting these countries would have little impact on the total number of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Using the percentage of overstays as a measure also disproportionately targets African nations — 13 of the 20 countries are in Africa — while avoiding political conflicts with larger and more powerful countries, such as China and India.
-snip-
By Maria Sacchetti and Kevin Uhrmacher April 24 at 3:28 PM
The White House shifted its focus this week from the surge of families crossing the U.S.-Mexico border to the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who arrive in the United States legally and then illegally remain in the country after their visas expire.
Though President Trump has fixated on the rising numbers of Central American families claiming asylum at the southern border, he also promised during his campaign that deporting those who overstay their legal visas would be a priority for his administration.
Trump on Monday issued a presidential memo that declared visa overstay rates “unacceptably high” and calling them a “widespread problem.” On the basis of a recent Homeland Security report, he instructed federal agencies to consider action against countries that have business and tourism travelers — using the popular B1 and B2 visas — who overstay at a rate higher than 10 percent.
Twenty countries have overstay rates higher than 10 percent, according to the Homeland Security report. Except for Syria and Nigeria, these countries accounted for fewer than 1,000 overstayers each.
-snip-
But some analysts say targeting these countries would have little impact on the total number of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Using the percentage of overstays as a measure also disproportionately targets African nations — 13 of the 20 countries are in Africa — while avoiding political conflicts with larger and more powerful countries, such as China and India.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/nations-the-white-house-is-targeting-for-visa-overstay-rates-account-for-small-number-of-violators-omit-brazil-venezuela-china/2019/04/24/956ef970-65d7-11e9-82ba-fcfeff232e8f_story.html
