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By R Mitchel

President Trump has issued orders to his administration to end visa overstays which accounted for more than 415,000 illegal aliens being in the U.S. in 2019.

“We have laws that need to be followed to keep Americans safe and to protect the integrity of a system where, right now, there are millions of people who are waiting in line to come to America to seek the American Dream,” Trump said in a statement Monday.

President Trump is signing a Presidential memorandum addressing the high number of nonimmigrant visa recipients who stay past their authorized time in our country, according to the White House.

At President Trump’s direction, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will work to ensure countries with visa overstay rates higher than 10 percent address this problem or face visa restrictions. Twenty countries have overstay rates greater than 10 percent—some with rates as high as 20, 30, or 40 percent.

Another action being considered is the implementation of admission bonds as a potential way to improve compliance with visas. If someone wants to come to the U.S., they have to put money in escrow. If they don’t leave, they lose the bond.

The Trump administration’s current efforts have led to a decrease in visa overstays from fiscal year 2017 to fiscal year 2018.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has implemented advanced biometrics to confirm traveler’s identities, prevent fraud and overstays.

The Department of Homeland Security requires countries with an overstay rate above 2% to implement public awareness campaigns warning against staying past the expiration date of a U.S. visa.