During a roundtable discussion in Orange County, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy expressed his intentions to use congressional appropriations to defund a visa program for Chileans. This program, known as ESTA or Electronic System for Travel Authorization, allows Chilean nationals to enter Southern California for tourism or business purposes without obtaining a visa. Authorities have dubbed this phenomenon “burglary tourism” as there has been a rise in residential break-ins attributed to Chilean tourists.
McCarthy emphasized that new legislation is not necessary to address this issue, as the administration already has the power to take action. He called on the Department of Homeland Security to impose a moratorium on the visa program. If the program is not rectified by the following week, McCarthy stated that it will be included in the congressional appropriations bill.
Accompanying McCarthy in Santa Ana were Representatives Young Kim and Michelle Steel, as well as District Attorney Todd Spitzer. They received a briefing from federal and local law enforcement before holding a press conference to address the issue.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has reported an increase in residential break-ins committed by “Lanzas Internacionales” or international thieves. Chile is the only South American country participating in the ESTA program. The system collects biographic information from applicants but does not collect biometric data. It also asks eligibility questions regarding communicable diseases, arrests and convictions, and visa history. Approval through ESTA allows tourists to travel to the U.S. by ship or plane, but admission into the country is determined by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers upon arrival.
Concerns were raised by members of the Orange County congressional delegation prior to the roundtable. Representatives Kim, Lou Correa, and Mike Levin sent a joint letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas expressing their concerns about the lack of enforcement in vetting requirements for Chilean nationals entering the U.S. through ESTA. They urged the Biden administration to designate Chile as a country of concern and communicate with Chilean authorities about the consequences of noncompliance with vetting requirements.
Overall, the roundtable aimed to address the ongoing issues surrounding Chile’s participation in the visa waiver program and find viable solutions to mitigate the rise in residential burglaries committed by Chilean tourists.
Denial of responsibility! VigourTimes is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
