The Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday promised a major crackdown on foreign visitors who come to the U.S. legally but don’t leave when their visas are up, citing Sunday’s violent attack on a pro-Israel rally as the impetus.
Mohamed Soliman, an Egyptian who overstayed his visa in 2022, has been blamed for the attack.
Homeland Security’s three immigration agencies vowed to get tough on overstays by ramping up immigration record checks.
“There is no room in the United States for the rest of the world’s terrorist sympathizers. Anyone who thinks they can come to America and advocate for antisemitic violence and terrorism — think again,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said.
Mr. Soliman, who faces state felony and federal hate crime charges, was living in the U.S. with his wife and five children at the time of the attack. According to court documents, he shouted “Free Palestine!” as he used a homemade flamethrower and firebombs to attack a demonstration that was demanding Hamas release Israeli hostages.
While border crossings get the most attention in the immigration debate, visa overstays are in the mix. They are people who come on temporary visitors’ passes as tourists, workers or students and don’t leave when their visas expire.
Some of the 2001 terrorist hijackers were overstays.
The latest Homeland Security report last year estimated that 565,000 temporary visa holders who were supposed to leave in 2023 overstayed their terms. About 55,000 did leave by the end of the fiscal year, but that meant more than 500,000 were still here.
Student and exchange visa holders had an overstay rate of nearly 4%, though some countries were much higher.
More than 70% of students from Equatorial Guinea, 54% from Eritrea and 40% from Burma who were supposed to go home in 2023 didn’t do so by the end of the year, the government says. China’s overstay rate was 1%, but that still totaled more than 3,000 students.
Mr. Soliman is one of nearly 3,300 Egyptians who overstayed their visas in 2022.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.