In a letter sent to Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday, U.S. Representative Ed Royce (R-Calif.) called for the immediate suspension of visas to non-U.S. nationals in three West Africa countries.
Royce also expressed his surprise that such a step has not already been taken in response to the Ebola outbreak.
He called the move a “reasonable and immediately implementable containment measure that may help mitigate the risk of further translocation to the United States, while not impeding the U.S. response to the epidemic.”
Royce, the Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, requested a stop to the issuance of visas in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone in an effort to contain the disease at its source. He wrote that he considers doing so standard procedure.
“I was surprised that the Department of State has not already exercised its authority to suspend consular services, which is standard procedure in countries experiencing a major security disruption,” Royce said in the letter. “This would be a prudent measure to mitigate the risk of Ebola exposure and contain its spread – a bedrock principal of health crisis management.”