Speech #1040070215

Constitution I see much about the protection of the safety and welfare of Americans. but nothing about protecting the rights of foreign terrorists to travel freely to the United States whenever they choose. The second of my bills contained in S. 735 is the Law Enforcement and Intelligence Sources Protection Act. This legislation would significantly increase the ability of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to share information with the State Department for the purpose of denying visas to known terrorists. drug traffickers. and others involved in international criminal activity. This provision would permit denials of U.S. visas to be made without a detailed written explanation for individuals who are excluded for law enforcement reasons. which current law requires. These denials could be made citing U.S. law generically. without further clarification or amplification. Individuals denied visas due to the suspicion that they are intending to immigrate would still have to be informed that this is the basis. to allow such an individual to compile additional information that may change that determination. Under a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act [INA]. a precise written justification. citing the specific provision of law. is required for every alien denied a U.S. visa. This requirement was inserted Into the INA out of the belief that every nonAmerican denied a U.S. visa for any reason had the right to know the precise grounds under which the visa was denied. even if it was for terrorist activity. narcotics trafficking. or other illegal acts. This has impeded the willingness of law enforcement and intelligence agencies to share with the State Department the names of excludable aliens. These agencies are logically concerned about impeding an investigation or revealing sources and methods if they submit a name of a person they know to be a terrorist or criminalbut who we do not want to know that we know about their activities--who then goes on the lookout list. is denied a visa. and then is informed in writing that he or she was denied a visa because of known drug trafficking activity. That drug trafficker then will know that the DEA knows about his or her illegal activity and may be developing a criminal case. This information is something the United States would want to protect. until the case against is completed and. hopefully. some law enforcement action is taken. At the same time. however. for the protection of the American people we should also make this information available to the Department of State to keep the individual out of our country. The key issue is that travel to the United States by noncitizens is a privilege. not a constitutional right. There is no fundamental right for extensive due process in visa decisions by our consular officers overseas. While I believe that our country should do what we can to be fair in our treatment of wouldbe visitors to the United States. in cases where providing information to an alien would harm our own national security. complicate potential criminal cases or potentially reveal sources and methods of intelligence gathering. we should err on the side of protecting Americans. not the convenience of foreign nationals. Mr.