French lawmaker says he was denied entry into US
He was set to meet with progressive lawmakers, he said, including Senator Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, and Representative Maxine Dexter, an Oregon Democrat. But, he said, on Tuesday he was told that his visa application had been rejected.
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'The door was shut in a rather abrupt and unexpected manner,' Amirshahi said in a telephone interview. 'This is a decision that we consider to be both hostile and unfriendly.'
A member of his team said later Thursday that the embassy was 'reconsidering the reasons for the refusal.'
A spokesperson for the US Embassy in Paris declined to comment and referred the matter to US Customs and Border Protection, which did not respond to a request for comment.
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Increasing numbers of travelers to the United States have reported being denied entry and being subjected to tougher scrutiny, or 'enhanced vetting.' The Trump administration says it is enforcing immigration laws and protecting Americans. Critics argue that officials are targeting foreigners who have criticized President Trump's policies.
In March, the French government accused the United States of denying entry to a French scientist after the scientist expressed opposition to Trump. The Department for Homeland Security said it was because the academic had confidential information from a US laboratory on his phone.
Amirshahi said he applied for a visa on May 19 after his request for an Electronic System for Travel Authorization form, which foreign travelers to the United States are required to obtain before visiting the United States, was denied. The US Embassy in Paris asked for the reason for his trip and a referral letter from the French Foreign Ministry, which was supplied on June 4. Almost two weeks later, his application was denied.
Amirshahi said he hoped the administration would reverse its decision in the coming days. He had initially planned to travel to the United States on June 11.
'We are primarily concerned with promoting parliamentary diplomacy, and the right of lawmakers to travel abroad, in order to be better informed in their actions,' he said in the news conference. 'We do not live in a vacuum today; interconnection is a reality.'
Amirshahi, who was born in Iran in 1972 and whose family fled to France in 1976, said he did not believe his background was the cause of the refusal.
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He became a French citizen in 1996, he said, and has publicly opposed the Iranian regime. 'My relationship with this theocratic regime is quite tenuous, since I hate them,' he said. 'I have fought them and will continue to fight them.'
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