US orders Gaza-linked social media vetting for all visa applicants
The screening includes NGO workers and individuals who have been in Gaza for any length of time in an official or diplomatic capacity
The Trump administration on Thursday ordered a social media vetting for all US visa applicants who have been to the Gaza Strip on or after January 1, 2007, an internal State Department cable seen by Reuters showed, in the latest push to tighten screening of foreign travellers.
The order to conduct a social media vetting for all immigrant and non-immigrant visas should include non-governmental organisation workers as well as individuals who have been in the Palestinian enclave for any length of time in an official or diplomatic capacity, the cable said.
“If the review of social media results uncovers potential derogatory information relating to security issues, then a SAO must be submitted,” the cable said, referring to a security advisory opinion, which is an inter-agency investigation to determine if a visa applicant poses a national security risk to the United States.
The cable was sent to all US diplomatic and consular posts.
The move comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has revoked hundreds of visas across the country, including the status of some lawful permanent residents under a 1952 law allowing the deportation of any immigrant whose presence in the country the secretary of state deems harmful to US foreign policy.
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