La Derecha Diario A U.s. Prosecutor Requested to Suspend the Visa Waiver Program for Chileans
The U.S. official stated that Chileans 'come to steal in one of the richest nations.'
The American prosecutor of Orange County, California, Todd Spitzer, described the recent robberies committed by immigrants as a clear case of "criminal tourism".
Seven individuals of Chilean nationality were charged with a series of robberies targeting elite athletes in the United States during the last months of 2024. These incidents caused losses exceeding 2 million dollars to NFL and NBA players.
Meanwhile, Todd Spitzer, prosecutor of Orange County, California, warned that these criminals are expanding their activities in the country and requested the suspension of the Visa Waiver program, which he accused of facilitating this type of crime.
"I've been shouting about this issue for almost two years. I even invited the former Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, who was my colleague when we were legislators in the California Assembly. I brought him here to California to get information on the subject," Spitzer stated.
"We met with the FBI. They know it. The Department of Justice knows it. Homeland Security knows it. The State Department too. It's the biggest secret in Washington and nobody seems to want to do anything about it," he added.
"Last year, members of Congress held hearings where we testified about this problem. But the reality is that now that high-profile athletes are losing millions of dollars in property, the issue is getting a lot of attention," the official added.
"However, this is criminal tourism. These Chileans have been coming for years. Everyone knows it. They're going to Orlando, Florida, where Disney World is. They come to Orange County, California, where Disneyland is. And they're not coming to visit 'the happiest place on earth'. In reality, they're coming to steal in one of the richest nations on the planet," the prosecutor concluded.
Suspension of the VISA Waiver
In a conversation with FOX, the prosecutor requested the suspension of visas for Chilean citizens, although he clarified: "this doesn't mean Chileans can't enter our country. They just can't do so under the Visa Waiver program".
"It's a 21-dollar online process with no background check, which is a violation of our agreement with Chile. We're talking about 350,000 Chileans a year. It's not a minor issue. It's an abuse," he noted.
"And here's the irony: right now, with the new administration, which I support, the president has said he'll deport all criminals first. My argument is: why are we allowing these criminals to enter in the first place, when we don't even know who they are?".
"This goes against our agreement with Chile. Chile is the only South American country still in this program. All other South American countries that once participated were removed from the program for sending criminals to the United States," the prosecutor concluded.
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