President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and State Department are announcing the removal of Romania from the Visa Waiver Program (VWP). Former President Joe Biden, in a last-minute move, admitted Romania to the VWP despite national security concerns.
DHS and the State Department, Breitbart News has learned, are removing Romania from the VWP after a review of the Eastern European country’s admittance was concluded.
The VWP is a coveted benefit that allows foreign nationals from designated countries to bypass having to obtain a visa to secure entry to the United States, and allowing them to stay in the country for up to 90 days visa-free.
DHS had paused Romania’s admission to the VWP in March after Biden officials announced in January that the country would be added to the program.
Countries eligible for the VWP must meet particular criteria, including having a visa overstay rate that is less than three percent.
Romania, in 2024, had an overstay rate of 2.61 percent, but in 2023, its overstay rate was nearly 9 percent, nearly 13 percent in 2022, and more than 17 percent in 2021.
“The Administration notes with increasing concern the recent developments across Europe of democratic backsliding,” a senior White House official told Breitbart News. “Efforts to suppress the will of the people draw into question the strength of our shared values.”
“Healthy democracies do not fear opposing perspectives. Concerted efforts to delegitimize certain political perspectives draw a striking resemblance to the American experience that President Trump faced, including lawfare and censorship,” the official said.
As Breitbart News has chronicled, the VWP has been used by foreign burglary gangs to gain visa-free admission to the U.S. so they can burglarize wealthy Americans.
Since 1986, nearly every presidential administration has continued expanding the VWP despite security warnings detailed in the 9/11 Commission Staff Report.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
