MSNBC Chief Legal Correspondent Ari Melber got his hands on a 2011 memorandum recommending that, among other things, the social media of visa applicants be screened before allowing them into the country. And this memo was rejected by Obama’s DHS on concerns for privacy and civil liberties.
The excuse is that one policy governs both citizens and foreigners, but that seems easy enough to fix. If they are so concerned about the privacy and civil liberties of American citizens, then create two policies, one for citizens and one for foreigners.
But I suspect it’s more likely that they felt like it would be profiling to do this and that’s the main reason it was rejected.
It’s also a good point to say if they are considering doing it now, after 14 people just died at the hands of Muslim terrorists, that it should have been good enough to do it then.