Topics: US News, News, Politics, Explained, World News, Donald Trump, Advice, Travel, Social Media
Anyone travelling to the United States could be asked to follow a strict rule before entering the country.
Tourists keen on visiting the Big Apple, driving over the Golden Gate Bridge or seeing the Lincoln Memorial may have to think twice as they are set to have their social media histories checked at border control, if the latest Trump administration mandate is enforced.
The proposed social media screening would apply to people who are eligible to visit the US for 90 days without a visa, including us Brits.
At the moment, any tourists hailing from Old Blighty don't actually require a visa to travel to the States and instead can complete an Electronic System for Travel Authorisations (ESTA).
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According to the Federal Register notice, it would be mandatory for all foreign tourists to provide data from their social media accounts from the past five years.
This would include email addresses and phone numbers.
On top of that, names, addresses, numbers and birthdays of family members would also be included in the compulsory information passed to the nation's border force.
Additionally, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has also proposed that moving forward, ESTA applications would require a selfie with the aim of collecting biometrics, including face, fingerprints, DNA and iris data.
The controversial proposal, which the public has 60 days to comment on, is the latest crackdown on immigration by the Trump administration.
Last month, the 79-year-old Republican shocked the world once again after sharing his plans to ban 'fat foreigners' from receiving a US visa.
Visa officers have been instructed to turn away immigrants who are obese or suffer from specific health conditions, with a memo sent out last month (6 November) from the State Department to embassies and consulates worldwide, revealing that visa applicants to the United States may face rejection if they have particular medical conditions, based on concerns they might burden domestic healthcare resources.
"You must consider an applicant’s health," the memo read. "Certain medical conditions — including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancers, diabetes, metabolic diseases, neurological diseases, and mental health conditions — can require hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of care."
The directive then specifically mentions obesity, noting its links to asthma, sleep apnea, and hypertension.
"All of these can require expensive, long-term care," it continues. "Does the applicant have adequate financial resources to cover the costs of such care over his entire expected lifespan without seeking public cash assistance or long-term institutionalisation at government expense?"
Tyla has contacted the White House for comment.
