Republicans are encouraging the Trump administration to better address organized crime by foreign nationals by kicking a non-cooperative country out of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP).
A group of House Republicans, including Texas Rep. Chip Roy and 10 other lawmakers, called on both the State Department of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Wednesday to remove Chile out of the VWP, according to a letter exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. American communities have experienced an outbreak of “burglary tourism,” in which Chilean organized crime rings have been able to exploit the VWP loopholes by entering the U.S. without a visa or any proper criminal background check, thereby allowing thousands of Americans to be victimized and millions of dollars in goods be stolen, the lawmakers argue.
The issue centers around the Chilean government’s refusal to participate in a cooperative agreement that allows U.S. immigration officials to properly vet their citizens.
“One of the many requirements for a country to be designated a VWP participant is to enter into an Agreement on Enhancing Cooperation in Preventing and Combating Serious Crime (PCSC) with the U.S. to screen out VWP applicants with criminal backgrounds during the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ETSA) process,” a portion of the letter reads.
“Chile refuses to provide U.S. authorities the required background information on its nationals seeking VWP entry into the U.S. despite entering into a PCSC agreement with the U.S. in 2013,” the letter continues.
More than 350,000 Chilean nationals entered the U.S. in 2022, the lawmakers said. This wave came just as the immigration crisis under the Biden administration began to heat up, sparking an influx of Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gangbangers and other members of ruthless migrant gangs — including Chilean-based criminals.
“These Chilean crime syndicates have recruited and trained individuals to form burglary teams,” the lawmakers said. “Through these teams, the Chilean nationals develop surveillance teams and use sophisticated technology like Wi-Fi and cell phone jammers and electronic trackers to conduct their burglary operations.”
The congressmen are not alone in voicing concern over Chile’s abuse of the VWP. Local law enforcement agencies in New York, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee and California have all highlighted the issue of unvetted Chilean nationals committing crimes in the country, according to the letter.
“We urge you to direct your respective agencies to require Chile to share its security records and to revoke Chile’s VWP status if it refuses to cooperate,” the lawmakers continued. “Moreover, we call on you to ensure other countries are working with the federal government to stop foreign theft rings across the U.S.”
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