President Trump’s administration is reviewing ways to enact the “extreme vetting” practices he often mentioned during his campaign, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Administration officials told the newspaper they are evaluating whether to require foreign nationals who visit the U.S. to divulge cellphone contacts and passwords for social media.
“If there is any doubt about a person’s intentions coming to the United States, they should have to overcome — really and truly prove to our satisfaction — that they are coming for legitimate reasons,” a counselor to Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told the Journal.
{mosads}Possible alterations to the visa process could affect citizens from countries like France and Germany, the newspaper noted.
While phone checks are not routine, new rules could potentially force visitors to supply their phones to authorities to check their contacts. Another method would require visitors to supply authorities with the passwords for online accounts so they may view both public and private interactions.
The potential changes could affect countries that are currently part of the U.S. Visa Waiver Program.
A senior official reportedly said the administration wants to “figure out who you are communicating with.”
Questions currently being analyzed for the process include whether visitors support honor killings and whether they regard the “sanctity of human life.”
The proposed changes echo the campaign rhetoric of Trump, who often said during his run for president that “extreme vetting” of people coming into the country is necessary.
Updated at 9:37 a.m.