To: Office of Budget and Management
Sign the petition: Say NO to extreme vetting!
I am writing to express my strong opposition to the Trump administration's "extreme vetting" proposal that requires all visa applicants to disclose their social media handles . I support keeping America safe, but this harmful proposal undermines American values and diverts security resources. I am deeply concerned that this will be utilized as part of the Trump administration's efforts to impose a Muslim ban or otherwise drive down the numbers of individuals from Muslim-majority nations seeking visas.
Why is this important?
Trump is implementing new extreme vetting procedures for all visa applications.
To get a U.S. visa, applicants will now have to provide all of their social media account information used in the last five years. If you don't, your visa application will be denied.
By requiring social media handles, the US government won't only look at your views and tirades on social media, they'll be able to identify and track anyone you've ever associated with.
It's a recipe for building a global map of foreigners' online relationships with no checks on how that data is used or mined by other government agencies.
The new requirements note that they'll only be used in certain cases that are pre-identified with potential ties to terrorism, but it doesn’t actually define what that means.
In reality, an applicant who simply has an Arabic name or comes from a Muslim country could easily be targeted for their race, religion or geographic origin.
And while the government says this won't happen, it's pretty hard to take the Trump administration at its word when it’s been so eager to pass its Muslim ban.
But we have the chance to stop this. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is seeking public comments on Trump's extreme vetting plan before approving it.
Make your voice heard. Tell the OMB: Say 'NO' to Trump's extreme vetting!
To get a U.S. visa, applicants will now have to provide all of their social media account information used in the last five years. If you don't, your visa application will be denied.
By requiring social media handles, the US government won't only look at your views and tirades on social media, they'll be able to identify and track anyone you've ever associated with.
It's a recipe for building a global map of foreigners' online relationships with no checks on how that data is used or mined by other government agencies.
The new requirements note that they'll only be used in certain cases that are pre-identified with potential ties to terrorism, but it doesn’t actually define what that means.
In reality, an applicant who simply has an Arabic name or comes from a Muslim country could easily be targeted for their race, religion or geographic origin.
And while the government says this won't happen, it's pretty hard to take the Trump administration at its word when it’s been so eager to pass its Muslim ban.
But we have the chance to stop this. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is seeking public comments on Trump's extreme vetting plan before approving it.
Make your voice heard. Tell the OMB: Say 'NO' to Trump's extreme vetting!