Gabriel Gasave of the Independent Institute on Imposing Transit Visas: Just Another Low-Flying Idea?
Late this past summer, the U.S. government announced the temporary suspension of two programs that allowed certain international air passengers to travel through U. S. airports for brief stopovers or to change planes on their way to other countries without first obtaining visas. They were known as the Transit Without Visa program and the International-to-International transit program (TWOV and ITI respectively).
Based on intelligence reports (“specific credible threats”) indicating that terrorist groups were planning to exploit these transit programs to get access to the United States or its airspace, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge defended his move saying that such measures “are necessary in order to protect lives and property.”
Read the rest here.