Black Meetings & Tourism - Travel Leaders Reject Sen. Paul's Call For Visa Restrictions

Industry Briefs
Travel Leaders Reject Sen. Paul's Call For Visa Restrictions
U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement responding to a proposal by GOP presidential aspirant Rand Paul to severely restrict the issuance of U.S. visas: "In the aftermath of 9/11, America and its leaders chose freedom over fear, which enabled our nation's recovery on multiple levels. That was the proper instinct then and it remains so now. "Senator Paul is suggesting a discredited 1930's approach - sweeping isolationism - to a decidedly 21st-century problem. The world is a complex and connected‎ place, which means that we best find ways to use technology and our alliances to secure our homeland and reject a 'hide under the covers' strategy for problem-solving. Tempting though it sometimes may be, we can't simply shut ourselves off from the world. If we do, shame on us, because then we're giving the enemy precisely what they want-terror, resignation, our prosperity and our very way of life. "The Visa Waiver Program is an effective, essential security tool that we cannot afford to relinquish, especially when it played zero role in the Paris attacks. Let's address the security problems we have, rather than creating new ones."

Industry Briefs

Travel Leaders Reject Sen. Paul's Call For Visa Restrictions

U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement responding to a proposal by GOP presidential aspirant Rand Paul to severely restrict the issuance of U.S. visas:

"In the aftermath of 9/11, America and its leaders chose freedom over fear, which enabled our nation's recovery on multiple levels. That was the proper instinct then and it remains so now.

"Senator Paul is suggesting a discredited 1930's approach - sweeping isolationism - to a decidedly 21st-century problem. The world is a complex and connected‎ place, which means that we best find ways to use technology and our alliances to secure our homeland and reject a 'hide under the covers' strategy for problem-solving. Tempting though it sometimes may be, we can't simply shut ourselves off from the world. If we do, shame on us, because then we're giving the enemy precisely what they want-terror, resignation, our prosperity and our very way of life.

"The Visa Waiver Program is an effective, essential security tool that we cannot afford to relinquish, especially when it played zero role in the Paris attacks. Let's address the security problems we have, rather than creating new ones."