Do citizens of foreign nations have a “right” to visit the United States, or is that only a “privilege” that our nation may choose to grant or deny?
It should be obvious that people who are not citizens of the United States do not have an automatic right to be in our country. They may gain permission to visit or even to immigrate here, but as a sovereign nation, we are entitled to allow that only if it is in our national interest.
So it is troubling that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton overrode a decision to deny a visa to a Muslim activist who had donated money to a “charity” that supported the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
The activist, Tariq Ramadan, denies any ties to terrorism and says he did not realize the “charity” was linked to Hamas. But in addition to his donation to a dubious “charity,” Ramadan is the grandson of the founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical, violent organization based in Egypt.
Does that prove that he, too, is a violent radical? No, but when U.S. officials are making decisions about who will get visas to visit our country, they should use their best judgment. Common sense and caution suggest that entry should be denied to someone who has given money to a group that aided terrorists — even if he says that was unintentional — and who is a close relative of a prominent radical.
Will that keep out some potential visitors who are truly innocent? Yes, and that’s unfortunate. But the United States should err on the side of caution, and not practice political correctness. There is no inherent “right” for a foreigner to visit our country.