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Visa restrictions should be enforced

Members of Congress were right to tighten visa requirements for citizens of 38 countries who formerly did not have to possess the documents to travel to the United States. Now, citizens of those nations who have traveled to Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan – hotbeds of terrorism – will have to present visas to come here.

Secretary of State John Kerry has written to Iranian leaders suggesting the new rule could be waived for people who have visited that country, then want to come here.

That is, in a word, crazy. Iran has a long record of sponsoring terrorist groups. There is little reason to believe that has changed or is likely to in the near future.

The new rule is meant to keep terrorists from sneaking into the United States. People who have been to Iran reasonably fall under suspicion.

The new rules are the law. President Barack Obama should disavow Kerry’s letter – and Congress should insist the law be obeyed. It won’t stop all would-be terrorists from reaching our shores but it may halt some.

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