poe United States Senate December 15, 2015 The Honorable Jeh Johnson Secretary USS. Department of Homeland Security Washington, D.C. 20528 Dear Secretary Johnson: I write with concerns about the reported lack of a comprehensive screening process of social networking sites with relation to the San Bernardino attack. In light of the revelations that the female assailant of this senseless attack stated her support for acts of terrorism on social media before entering the United States through a K-1 visa, itis clear that more must be done to strengthen our screening processes. I urge you to review these protocols and consider expanding the scope of them to ensure posts of this nature receive proper attention in future screenings. As | understand, President Obama has already ordered a review of the K-1 visa program, the program under which the assailant was able to legally enter the country. According to a ‘White House spokesman, the Administration is considering a moratorium on new K-1 visas and reviewing all 90,000 such visas issued in the last two years. While such actions certainly merit review, we are already aware of substantial vulnerabilities facing our nation’s immigration screening process. Critical checks by the Department of Homeland Security and State Department yielded no results before Tashfeen Malik entered the country. Further investigations into her background after she applied for her green card reportedly failed to uncover any red flags. Yet because of a lack of routine checks into K-1 visa applicants’ social media accounts, her open desire to commit, violent acts of extremism went unreported. We continue to face threats in this country from those spouting violent extremist thoughts ‘on social media. It is clear that investigations into statements and behavior on open source social ‘media have uncovered numerous threats of violence from potential threats. Unfortunately, the current system of background checks has proven insufficient to detect and root out some of these threats. Indeed, the risks posed by Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis and Malik are not dissimilar: both posed a significant risk to our country because they were not vetted to the greatest extent possible. Absent rigorous new policies on social media vetting, the background check systems in place will continue to be outdated and inadequate. Bozsnas Bure Guenowe (qn 586-2460 406) 723-327 1406} 365-2801 06) 849-5401 (4oe) 257-3360‘components, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, must update their policies to reflect the reality that open source social media is a critical tool in vetting visa applicants and immigrants coming into the United States. The Department must ensure that terrorist speech and terrorist content on social media are reviewed by U.S. officials as they conduct background investigation screenings on potential immigrants to the United States. I strongly urge the Department to conduct a thorough review of its policies and, in consultation with web application providers and Congress, implement such policies quickly. Such a blind spot in our vetting process exposes us to significant risk. Thank you for your immediate attention to this eritical issue. poe Jon Tester United States Senator