U.S. immigration officials were reportedly barred from vetting visa applicants' social media posts

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Since investigators linked a pro-Islamic State Facebook account to one of the San Bernardino shooters, there's been increased scrutiny over how the Department of Homeland Security incorporates social media into its vetting process of visa applicants like Tashfeen Malik. Apparently, until recently, they didn't factor it into decisions about who they accept at all, ABC News reports.

That's according to ABC national security consultant John Cohen, who previously served as an acting DHS undersecretary for intelligence and analysis. In early 2014, Cohen said, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson declined to end a secret U.S. policy that barred immigration officials from reviewing the social media posts of foreign citizens seeking U.S. visas.

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Julie Kliegman

Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.