Trump Administration to Set Up National Vetting Center For Immigrants

U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered for establishment of a centralized vetting center for visitors to the United States. The National Vetting Center (NVC) is going to be a part of Trump’s move to deliver on his campaign rhetoric of “extreme vetting.”

The center would scrutinize those coming to the United States, including immigrants, refugees and other visitors, to identify people “who present a threat to national security, border security, homeland security, or public safety.”

The federal government’s “current vetting efforts are ad hoc, which impedes our ability to keep up with today’s threats,” White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement. “The NVC will better coordinate these activities in a central location, enabling officials to further leverage critical intelligence and law enforcement information to identify terrorists, criminals, and other nefarious actors trying to enter and remain within our country.”

The Department of Homeland Security, senior staff from the State and Justice departments, and the U.S. intelligence will work together to “keep terrorists, violent criminals, and other dangerous individuals from reaching” the United States. The center will be situated at the DHS offices, the White House said.

“The NVC will better coordinate these activities in a central location, enabling officials to further leverage critical intelligence and law enforcement information to identify terrorists, criminals, and other nefarious actors trying to enter and remain within our country,” the statement added.

Trump, who has been pushing for stricter immigration laws, said on Feb. 6: “Not another country in the world has the stupidity of laws that we do when it comes to immigration.” He has indicated that he would be open to a government shutdown if lawmakers don’t agree to a border wall.

He had earlier said that the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program extension is dependent on the Democrats agreeing to the border wall and other security measures. The DACA affects thousands of Indians living in the country.

The Trump administration is also working towards ending work permit for H4 visa holders, which are mainly Indian and Chinese wives of H-1B visa holders. The United States also wants to stop “chain migration” by preventing anyone but a spouse and minor child with a H-1B visa holder.

Meanwhile, around 800 Indian Americans recently marched in Washington to support implementation of a “merit based” immigration system in the country and demand clearance of the decades-old backlog for Indian Green Card aspirants.