Very soon, Mexican and Canadian officials are going to push the Trump administration to approve and finalize a “NAFTA 2.0,” which is supposedly a renegotiation of the original 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement. The administration’s primary representative in this effort is the U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Robert Lighthizer.
While we are being told by Ambassador Lighthizer and others that this will be a good deal for Americans, I encourage President Trump to take a hard look at one provision in particular: the special visas that are buried in the original NAFTA, and to reach out to Congress about this important subject. This visa provision must be a part of the national discussion and the congressional debate about renewing NAFTA to ensure it really will be a good deal for Americans.
The 1993 NAFTA created a brand new visa, dubbed the Treaty National (or TN) visa. The TN visa was designed to permit the nationals of the three treaty signatories to flow freely across each others’ borders for business purposes. This open borders provision has never been rationally vetted by the American people. Twenty-five years after their inception, TN visas raise important sovereignty, economic, and, perhaps most importantly, homeland security issues that must be addressed.
Since TN visas are part of a congressionally approved treaty, they are undeniably legal, and are technically only available to Mexican and Canadian nationals. That said, it is unclear if Congress can do anything to change TN visas or their requirements, given that it is a product of the treaty instead of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Depending on who you believe, Congress may actually not be able to modify TN visas in any way, or strengthen screening and vetting requirements. In addition, because TN visas are issued pursuant to NAFTA treaty authorities, the Department of Homeland Security does not have oversight or control over these visas. This means people other than our own homeland security experts are authorizing foreign nationals into our country. This is both an affront to sovereignty and a significant national security blind spot.
Continue Reading: NAFTA-linked visas for Canada and Mexico need a closer look before Congress passes NAFTA 2.0
While we are being told by Ambassador Lighthizer and others that this will be a good deal for Americans, I encourage President Trump to take a hard look at one provision in particular: the special visas that are buried in the original NAFTA, and to reach out to Congress about this important subject. This visa provision must be a part of the national discussion and the congressional debate about renewing NAFTA to ensure it really will be a good deal for Americans.
The 1993 NAFTA created a brand new visa, dubbed the Treaty National (or TN) visa. The TN visa was designed to permit the nationals of the three treaty signatories to flow freely across each others’ borders for business purposes. This open borders provision has never been rationally vetted by the American people. Twenty-five years after their inception, TN visas raise important sovereignty, economic, and, perhaps most importantly, homeland security issues that must be addressed.
Since TN visas are part of a congressionally approved treaty, they are undeniably legal, and are technically only available to Mexican and Canadian nationals. That said, it is unclear if Congress can do anything to change TN visas or their requirements, given that it is a product of the treaty instead of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Depending on who you believe, Congress may actually not be able to modify TN visas in any way, or strengthen screening and vetting requirements. In addition, because TN visas are issued pursuant to NAFTA treaty authorities, the Department of Homeland Security does not have oversight or control over these visas. This means people other than our own homeland security experts are authorizing foreign nationals into our country. This is both an affront to sovereignty and a significant national security blind spot.
Continue Reading: NAFTA-linked visas for Canada and Mexico need a closer look before Congress passes NAFTA 2.0
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