Visa overstay is a major contributor to illegal immigration, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said during an appearance on Breitbart News Daily.
Host Mike Slater pointed to the migrant crisis in Spain and said this is something the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) want to happen in the United States.
“But this administration has totally shut down our border completely. No one is making it across this border, but or I should say, and that means we got to spend more time now on visa enforcement, and that’s where you come in,” Slater observed. “So, what is the scope of this problem of people overstaying their visas?”
Pigott said it is a “massive” issue and “a primary cause of illegal immigration, where people come and they overstay their visas.”
WATCH — Thousands of Migrants from Morocco Flood into Spanish Territory:
“And so, one actually specific policy we have to address this is in countries with foreign policy concerns or with high visa overstay rates, we’ve issued a visa bond pilot program, which requires people to put money up front, up to $15,000, which they receive back once they abide by the terms of their visa, and they return back to their country of origin,” he revealed, explaining that this policy has been implemented in countries with high overstay rates, and those rates have since “plummeted down to near zero.”
Pigott revealed the U.S. has an almost perfect success rate in terms of the visa bond program. There are other policies being implemented as well, which include increased vetting and screening policies.
He said:
We have a close to 100 percent success rate when it comes to that visa bond program. So that’s just one element of this. We of course have other policies that, if we’re unable to properly vet someone from a certain country, or if we have concerns that someone is going to be a public charge on the United States, meaning they’re going to use benefits here, we have additional screening policies and policies in place to make sure that one, we’re not letting in people that we can’t vet properly; two, we’re going to only let people in that we have high confidence will abide by the terms of their visa; and three, we’re going to protect the resources of the American taxpayer.
LISTEN:
Breitbart News Daily airs weekdays on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Eastern.
Read the full article here