Up until this weekend, British national Malik Faisal Akram had never committed a crime. He had been in the U.S. for just two weeks. Yet, one of Donald Trump's Homeland Security appointees wants the media to ask how Akram got into the U.S.
How did hostage taker Malik Faisal Akram make his way to the United States? Tourist visa? Foreign student visa? Media should be asking. Without details it's very difficult to prevent this from happening again.\n\nICE public affairs: 202-732-4646\nDHS public affairs: 202-282-8010pic.twitter.com/KLQQ8G0a2O— Jon Feere (@Jon Feere) 1642364541
The problem that Jon Feere acknowledges is that it's very difficult to stop something like this from happening again. It doesn't have anything to do with President Joe Biden and existing visa programs. It's due to people can enter the United States for two weeks for "vacation." If he didn't have a criminal history, then he wasn't on a watch list.
As Cato Institute director of Economics and Social policy Alex Nowrasteh explained, nothing that was in place from Donald Trump would have stopped Akram.
According to the president, Akram "allegedly" bought the gun used in the attack "on the street," though the investigation is still ongoing. A Daily Beast report quoted the man's brother saying he had mental health issues.
Probably visa waiver program because he was British. None of your former boss\u2019s silly orders would\u2019ve stopped him. \n\nhttps://news.sky.com/story/amp/texas-synagogue-siege-british-hostage-taker-named-as-malik-faisal-akram-1251790\u00a0\u2026https://twitter.com/jonfeere/status/1482810474941059080\u00a0\u2026— The Alex Nowrasteh (@The Alex Nowrasteh) 1642367106
Man with high-level position in ICE under Trump seems unaware of existence of Visa Waiver Program.https://twitter.com/JonFeere/status/1482810474941059080\u00a0\u2026— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@Aaron Reichlin-Melnick) 1642367337
