June 22, 2023
The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas
Secretary of Homeland Security
MS 0525 Department of Homeland Security
2707 Martin Luther King Jr Ave SE
Washington, DC 20528-0525
Dear Secretary Mayorkas:
We are requesting that you use the legal authority granted to you by Congress to immediately suspend the Republic of Chile from the Visa Waiver Program. Chilean criminals are abusing the program to burglarize neighborhoods in California and throughout the United States, robbing residents of their sense of safety and security in their homes.
As you know, more than 350,000 Chilean nationals entered the United States in 2022 under the Visa Waiver Program and are granted easy entrance to Southern California. This Visa Waiver program allows travelers from 40 different nations to spend up to 90 days in the United States. If a traveler successfully completes an Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) application, they do not need to obtain a visa and avoid the more rigorous background check that comes with applying for a visa.
We have significant concerns for the safety of our communities in Southern California, which have been experiencing a rise in residential break-ins and violent crime by tourist burglars known as Lanza Internationals. These international thieves, which have been identified from law enforcement as Chilean criminal gang members, have been abusing the Visa Waiver Program to gain easy access into the United States.
It is being reported that over the last year, more than 140 defendants were charged with hundreds of burglaries and robberies in Orange County alone. Those with links to an international crime gang are also believed to have involvement in crimes occurring throughout the larger Southern California region.
Since these individuals who utilize the Visa Waiver Program are not receiving adequate background checks before entering the country, there is nothing in their criminal background file when they are arrested. If they come before a judge for committing a crime, they are released on little or no bail and typically do not return for a future court hearing. Our constituents deserve to feel a sense of security in their homes and this is not possible if violent foreign criminals are released back into the community.
The lack of a background check is a major concern for Californians. We respectfully request that you suspend the Visa Waiver Program for the Republic of Chile until there is a pathway forward to ensure those entering have no criminal ties.
Sincerely,
