The Executive Order EO, “Protecting The United States From Foreign Terrorists And Other National Security And Public Safety Threats,” requires that federal agencies update and review the vetting process for applicants for all visas to the United States, to ensure that applicants “are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.” This includes determining the types of documentation that are needed for vetting and determining if applicants are security or public safety threats.

Within 60 days of the date of the EO, the Department of State, Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence must submit a report to the President, identifying countries for which vetting and screening information is deficient, warranting “a partial or full suspension on the admission of nationals from those countries” (possibly justifying a future travel ban or bans). The report will identify how many nationals from those countries have entered the United States since January 20, 2021, and any other relevant information about them, and if that information justifies excluding or deporting those persons, DHS must take steps to do so.

The EO also directs agencies to evaluate and adjust rules, policies, and guidance related to grounds of inadmissibility for migrants; review safeguards for vetting of refugees and stateless persons; evaluate visa programs so they are not used by foreign enemies and hostile actors to harm the security and interests of the United States; recommend actions on future actions necessary to exclude non-citizens who seek to undermine the constitutional rights and freedoms of the American people or who call for “the overthrow or replacement of the culture on which our constitutional Republic stands;” review resource needs for enforcing rules related to the revocation of naturalization; and evaluate the adequacy of programs designed to ensure the proper assimilation of lawful immigrants into the United States, and make recommendations to promote “a unified American identity.”