HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.269
Reps. Harris, Cavitt, Bezotte, Wozniak, Mueller, BeGole, Martin
and Hall offered the following resolution:
1 A resolution to urge the United States Secretary of Homeland
2 Security, in consultation with the United States Secretary of
3 State, to suspend or terminate Chile’s participation in the Visa
4 Waiver Program.
5 Whereas, The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) permits eligible
6 nationals from certain countries to travel to the United States for
7 business or tourism purposes for up to 90 days without obtaining a
8 visa. Before departing for the United States, eligible nationals
9 from VWP countries must apply under the Electronic System for
10 Travel Authorization, but, unlike applicants for B-1 business visas
11 or B-2 tourist visas, they are not required to undergo an in-person
12 interview with U.S. officials or have their fingerprints taken
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1 before they reach a port of entry. This lack of biometric
2 information limits the types of databases that can be used to
3 determine whether prospective travelers have a criminal history;
4 and
5 Whereas, The U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security is
6 responsible for determining which countries may participate in the
7 Visa Waiver Program. To qualify, a country must satisfy various
8 criteria, including a requirement that the country certify that it
9 is screening each foreign national who is admitted to or departs
10 from the country, as well as a requirement that the country share
11 information with the United States regarding whether a national of
12 that country traveling to the United States represents a threat to
13 U.S. security or welfare. The Secretary of Homeland Security, in
14 consultation with the Secretary of State, has the power to suspend
15 or terminate a country’s participation in the program if their
16 participation poses a threat to our nation’s national security or
17 law enforcement interests; and
18 Whereas, Chile is one of the designated countries in the Visa
19 Waiver Program. The Secretary of Homeland Security made this
20 designation on February 28, 2014; and
21 Whereas, There have recently been allegations that Chilean
22 nationals are abusing the Visa Waiver Program to gain access to the
23 United States for the purpose of committing crimes against
24 Americans. Transnational criminal organizations from Chile have
25 committed hundreds of residential burglaries in the United States,
26 including a string of thefts in Oakland County. In 2023, multiple
27 Chilean nationals who had entered the country under the Visa Waiver
28 Program were arrested for stealing millions of dollars’ worth of
29 goods in the Oakland County area; now, therefore, be it
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1 Resolved by the House of Representatives, That we urge the
2 United States Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with
3 the United States Secretary of State, to suspend or terminate
4 Chile’s participation in the Visa Waiver Program; and be it further
5 Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the
6 United States Secretary of Homeland Security and the United States
7 Secretary of State.
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