Am I reading them from the United States law passed by the Congress and signed by the President? Most certainly not. Am I reading it from a howto book on exploiting loopholes in the United States visa system? I may as well be. Colleagues. believe it or not. I am reading from our very own Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual. The same Foreign Affairs Manual issued to the Departments 25.000 employees located in more than 250 posts worldwide. Even more alarming. this is from the chapter that instructs our consular officers to whom visas should be issued. Visas are. of course. the ticket foreigners. including terrorists. need to enter the United States. This instruction says to the consular officer deciding whether to issue a visa that they need not deny a visa to an individual who advocates terrorism. I. for one. cannot imagine a more pertinent ground for denial. If advocacy of terrorism is not grounds for exclusion. then I dont know what is. Not only am I concerned about the message this sends to our dedicated consular officers. I am just as concerned about the message this sends to terrorists. It says to them. feel free to lay the groundwork for an attack at home. apply for a visa. and come to America to finish the job. This is not the message the United States should be conveying to terrorists. This Congress has already passed important legislation denying visas to terrorists. including in the PATRIOT and REAL ID Acts. The REAL ID Act. signed into law on May 11. 2005. specifically states one who endorses or espouses terrorist activity is inadmissible. The REAL ID Act became public law on May 11 of last year. 8 days after publication of this manual.
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