Gus Bilirakis Calls for Crackdown on Student Visas

On Tuesday, Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis introduced a bill that would require the federal government to provide more thorough background checks on student visa applicants.

"Many foreign students come here with noble intentions, and while not all terrorists have come to the U.S. under the guise of a student visa, many do," said Bilirakis. "Terrorists have found a loophole in our nation's security, and we must close that loophole."

Noting that a Saudi national in the United States on a student visa had planned to kill former President George W. Bush and that the Times Square bomber and several of the 9/11 terrorists first entered the nation on student visas, Bilirakis also called for better monitoring of international students.

"These recent abuses of the system show that we don't have a proper screening system to adequately vet students before being admitted to study in the U.S.," added Bilirakis, who has been fighting for the measure since he first proposed it in 2007. "My legislation would require ICE agents at visa stations overseas to review all student visa applications and conduct in-person interviews, when deemed necessary, before a student is granted his or her visa."