Visa Waiver Program

It was and still is with great shock, horror and sadness as we see on TV the news and images covering the terror attacks in Paris. In what is known to be the most romantic city in the world where what is known as the most care free people on earth live, on that fateful night of Friday the 13th, evil descended upon them showing the world how a senseless, twisted and extremist form of ideology could slaughter innocent individuals while at the same time attempt to intimidate and instill fear for the rest of us.

I have many friends and clients who are devout Islam believers. We may have diverse opinions and practices in the specific tenets of our respective religions, yet our differences pale in comparison to the similarities that we share and that is achieving a peaceful world we all call home. It must be strongly pointed out here that we love our Muslim brothers and sisters. Those we condemn are the terrorists who use the Islam religion to justify their radical ideas and acts of violence. Even my Muslim friends are very indignant of these horrific acts of violence committed in the name of Islam.

While the rest of the world is in a quandary on how to solve this seemingly intractable global cancer, we must continue to be very vigilant and mindful of any suspicious activities around us. We may acknowledge the threats and take those seriously, yet we must not allow fear to paralyze our way of life. As we pray for divine protection, we also hope that the government will continue to perform its duty of ensuring our safety and security by using its vast powers without unduly undermining our basic constitutional liberties.

What do the Paris attacks have to do with immigration either to the US or the Philippines? Unquestionably significant. Let me illustrate two examples.

In both countries, there is what we call a Visa Waiver Program which allows citizens of certain pre-approved countries to travel to the US or Philippines without a visa for a specific number of days. We learn from reports that the Paris attackers were mostly French citizens, their ringleader was Belgian and the other co-conspirators may be citizens or nationals of other European countries. Therefore, terrorists do not necessarily have to be citizens from Syria or Iraq, which by the way are not visa waived countries. If you peruse the list of either countries under their respective visa waiver programs, you will find that there are a number of countries where there are past instances that its own citizens are either terrorists, sympathizers or supporters of terrorism groups. Using the Visa Waiver Programs, these malevolent individuals can just use their own passports and slip into our borders without passing the more rigorous visa application procedures. On Thursday, November 19, a bipartisan bill was introduced by Sens. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California and Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona that would not allow anyone who has traveled to Iraq or Syria in the past five years to travel to the US under visa waiver program. These individuals would have to apply for a visa under the traditional manner which involves going through an interview at the US consulate. We urge that the Philippines review and if necessary revise and strengthen the requirements under its own visa waiver program.

Both countries have also expressed its desire to accept refugees from Syria. The Aquino administration extends a conditional offer - subject to its own resources and capabilities, that the Philippines could act as a temporary destination for refugees as they await to be accepted by their host country. For its part, the Obama administration has announced that it wants to resettle 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year but it has met vigorous resistance from both Democrats and Republicans in the US House of Representatives. In fact, just three days ago, the House overwhelmingly passed a bill to stop the admission of Syrian refugees until a stricter screening process is enforced. On top of that, 31 governors have strongly voiced their opposition to resettle Syrian refugees into their states. These actions by the House and the governors follow after it was revealed that one of the terrorists in Paris entered Europe through Greece disguising himself as one of the legitimate Syrian refugees. President Obama, in response to the House bill, issued a statement that he will veto it and his allies in the Senate joined him by saying that they will block the bill. Let us wait how this issue evolves in the US and hope that politics do not muddle this worldwide humanitarian crisis. In the meantime, the Philippines could also revisit its plans of accepting Syrian refugees maintaining the fine balance between national security and its renowned hospitality.

What happened in Paris teaches us a lesson on how important and interrelated immigration laws are to the safety and security of a country and its citizens. Implementing stringent but more humane immigration laws while bolstering the capabilities of government agencies tasked in issuing passports, adjudicating visa applications and securing our borders are just some of the myriad ways that a country could exercise if it were to ensure its own existence.

For any questions or comments, please contact me at [email protected].