Trump Plan Would Allow Government to Check 5 Years of Tourists’ Social Media History Before They Visit the U.S.

Foreign tourists visiting the United States could soon be required to share details of their personal social media accounts before being allowed to enter the country, under a new proposal from Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

In a notice published in the Federal Register on Wednesday, Dec. 10, the Trump administration outlined plans to make “mandatory social media” information part of the application process for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

The current Visa Waiver Program (VWP) allows most citizens or nationals of participating countries — including the U.K., Australia, Japan, South Korea and others — to visit the U.S. for tourism or business for up to 90 days without obtaining a traditional visa.

Even so, travelers using the VWP must still secure an approved ESTA. Under the new proposal, that application would require applicants to provide social media information from the previous five years.

According to the notice, “The [Customs and Border Protection] CBP is adding social media as a mandatory data element for an ESTA application. The data element will require ESTA applicants to provide their social media from the last [five] years.”

The proposal further indicates that additional “high value data fields” may be added to the ESTA form when feasible, including telephone numbers used in the past five years, email addresses used within the past 10 years, family member names and other personal details.

Members of the U.S. public have 60 days to submit comments on the proposed changes, as outlined in the notice.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The proposal follows a June announcement from the State Department stating that certain visa applicants would be instructed to change their social media privacy settings to “public” across all profiles, according to a news release.

More recently, the State Department said that beginning Dec. 15, it would expand the requirement for an online presence review to include all H-1B visa applicants and their dependents, in addition to students and exchange visitors already subject to such scrutiny.

The H-1B program is a nonimmigrant visa category that allows U.S. employers to temporarily hire foreign workers in specialty occupations.

The administration’s broader push on immigration — including legal immigration — intensified after two National Guard members, Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, were shot in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 26. The alleged gunman is reported to have worked with the CIA during the war in Afghanistan.

Beckstrom later died from her injuries, while Wolfe is recovering after initially “fighting for his life,” according to the Associated Press. The suspect charged in the shooting is 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal.

In the wake of the attack, officials announced they would suspend processing all immigration requests from Afghans and re-examine green cards issued to individuals who migrated to the U.S. from 19 countries, according to the BBC.

Following the shooting, President Donald Trump said he would “permanently pause migration” to the U.S. from all “third world countries,” without providing further details at the time, the outlet reported.

Earlier this week, reports surfaced that government officials had removed immigrants who had already been approved for naturalization from the line just moments before they were scheduled to take the oath of allegiance in Boston on Thursday, Dec. 4.

The incident took place at Boston’s Faneuil Hall, according to WGBH, a National Public Radio member station.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials removed individuals from the ceremony because the agency has instructed employees to halt all immigration applications for nationals from the 19 countries that have been subject to travel restrictions since June under a presidential proclamation, WGBH and NBC News reported.

The administration has designated this list of largely African and Asian countries as high-risk.