Letter To The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary Of State
Letter
Grassley Seeks Information About Failure to Revoke Visas to "Possible Terrorists" and Presses State Department for Answers on Visa Screening Upgrades at Foreign Stations
Senator Chuck Grassley today pushed the Department of State for information about its policy of allowing foreign nationals classified as "possible terrorists" to travel to the United States and expressed concerns about the slow process of implementing Visa Security Units at its embassies around the world. In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Grassley expressed dismay that the would-be Christmas Day bomber had a valid U.S. visa and that only 14 of the 220 Department of State posts have Visa Security Units.
Visa Security Units assist the State Department in screening visa applicants for security concerns. The 9/11 hijackers entered the country because the State Department approved their visa applications despite answers like "no" or "hotel" in the blank where they were supposed to put their U.S. destination.
Grassley is renewing his request for additional information about the Visa Security Units after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab received a U.S. visa in London and was allowed to retain it even after his father tried to warn U.S. officials in Nigeria. Neither post has a Visa Security Unit. Abdulmutalleb has been charged with attempting to blow up a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. The senator began requesting information in September 2007.
Grassley said his office has heard reports that implementation of the Visa Security Units has been hampered by roadblocks put forth by personnel at the U.S. embassies throughout the world, including the London station.
Here is a copy of the text of Grassley's letter to Clinton, followed by Grassley's previous correspondence on Visa Security Units.
January 11, 2010
Via Electronic Transmission
The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary
U.S. Department of State
2201 C. Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Clinton:
As the Senior Senator from Iowa, Ranking Member on the United States Senate Committee on Finance, and a senior member of the Committee on the Judiciary it is my constitutional duty to conduct oversight into the actions of the Executive Branch, including the activities of the Department of State.
Since September 2007, I have been seeking from the Department of State information regarding the screening procedures for foreign nationals entering this country. Following the 9/11 attacks, Congress created the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and charged the Secretary with creating Visa Security Units (VSUs) to assist the State Department in screening visa applicants for security concerns. The 9/11 hijackers entered the country because the State Department approved their visa applications despite answers like "no" or "hotel" in the blank where they were supposed to put their U.S. destination. By placing DHS security personnel in U.S. embassies to help the State Department improve screening of applicants, the VSUs were a vital reform aimed at shoring-up one of America's first lines of defense against foreign terrorist attacks. The establishment of VSUs was supposed to be a compromise substitute for the more drastic reform that many advocated of taking the visa issuance function away from the State Department entirely.
However, eight years later, DHS personnel are only in 14 of over 220 State Department posts around the world. When I asked about implementation of VSU's a year-and-a-half ago there were 10. At this rate it would take over 20 years to establish VSUs in the approximately 40 posts that DHS has identified as high risk. This is completely unacceptable, especially in light of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's attempt to down a Detroit-bound airliner on Christmas Day. Implementation of the VSUs has hardly progressed at all. There isn't one in London, where Abdulmutallab was issued his visa, or in Nigeria where his father went to warn U.S. officials.
It has been reported to my office that the slow pace of implementation has been due to objections and roadblocks from the State Department. Specifically, over the last few years DHS encountered resistance from ambassadors in attempting to establish VSUs in Kuala Lumpur, London, Nairobi, Istanbul, and Kuwait City. It is extremely troubling that an ambassador can inhibit the ability of DHS in carrying out its mission. At this time there are no VSUs in Yemen, Nigeria, England, France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, nor many other posts identified by DHS as needing them.
Attached you will find a copy of the letter I wrote to the State Department and DHS in the summer of 2008 seeking information about the implementation of VSUs. I have not received a substantive response. In light of recent events, I renew my previous requests and ask that the Department provide a briefing on the steps that it will take to speed the process of establishing the VSUs as Congress intended in 2002 when it passed the Homeland Security Act. In addition, please provide written responses to the following questions and requests by January 22, 2010:
1) According to press reports, State Department officials have indicated Abdulmutallab's visa would not have been revoked under any circumstances because the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) classified him as "P3B," which stands for a "possible" terrorist rather than a "3B" classification as a terrorist. Given that there are numerous statutory reasons for which a visa may be revoked short of a classification by the NCTC as a terrorist, please explain why classification as a "possible terrorist" should not disqualify a foreign national from traveling to the United States?
2) How many other foreign nationals are currently classified as "possible terrorists" by the NCTC and yet hold valid visas to travel to the United States? How many are already in the United States? What steps are you taking to ensure that those individuals are reviewed and vetted for possible revocation of their privilege to travel to the United States?
3) Please provide a copy of Abdulmutallab's visa application and a detailed explanation of why the report from his father to State Department officials in Nigeria failed to result in a revocation of his visa in November 2009.
Thank you for your cooperation and attention to this important matter.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Jason Foster of my staff at 202-224-4515. All formal correspondence should be sent electronically in PDF format to Brian_Downey@finance-rep.senate.gov or via facsimile to 202-228-2131.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Grassley
Ranking Member
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