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Give Homeland Security role in U.S. visas: Senator

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Homeland Security Department rather than the State Department should handle U.S. visas overseas to meet security threats, the chairman of the Senate homeland security committee said on Sunday.

Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman raised the idea during a discussion on ABCs "This Week" of the attempted bombing of a Detroit-bound plane on Dec 25.

"I believe, incidentally, that we ought to take a look at taking the visa application and admission responsibility from the State Department. It doesn't really fit with foreign policy anymore," he said.

"And in an age of terrorism, I think the Department of Homeland Security ought to be handling visas abroad."

The 23-year-old Nigerian accused of the attempted bombing, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, held a multiple-entry U.S. visa issued in London, according to a statement by his family.

Leaders of the Senate committee say they will convene a hearing this month to examine airline security.

The committee's top Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, said on "This Week" the State Department should have revoked Abdulmutallab's visa after his family told U.S. officials they were worried about his activities.

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Ahem... The immigration services are already part of Homeland Security! Cough cough!  When they did that initially, I thought it was a very smart move. So, this says that the organization has failed to integrate and come out with cohesive actions in the face of dire alerts and amassing evidence to indicate potential national security issues in specific cases.

Last I knew, the Constitution did not guarantee any non-Citizen the right to come into the US.  What are they waiting for? When they have bad news, why don't they just prune away? 


-- Edited by Sanders on Sunday 3rd of January 2010 03:40:29 PM