Release #14.80
September 18, 2014
ALPA Commends Executive Branch, U.S. House
for Upholding Libyan Restrictions on Flight Training
Union Called for Maintaining Prohibition in Letters to DHS and U.S. House
WASHINGTON––Capt. Lee Moak, president of the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), issued the following statement commending the Executive Branch and the Department of Homeland Security for upholding the prohibition on admitting Libyan nationals to the United States for flight training and hailed the U.S. House for strongly backing the prohibition.
“The Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l commends the Executive Branch and the Department of Homeland Security for recognizing the security threat and upholding the ban on allowing Libyan nationals to come to the United States for flight training. We also express our gratitude to the U.S. House for its strong support for maintaining the 30-year-old prohibition.
“Our union appreciates the backing of the restrictions by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), House Immigration and Border Security Subcommittee chairman, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Judiciary Committee chairman, and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), Oversight and Government Reform National Security Subcommittee chairman, who introduced the Protecting the Homeland Act (H.R. 5401) to block any policy change.
“As ALPA made clear in letters to both the Department of Homeland Security and Congress earlier this year, given the political instability in Libya, we strongly oppose lifting the current prohibition. Anyone desiring to come to the United States for flight training must pass a thorough background check to ensure that they do not pose a security threat, which is not possible for Libyan nationals in today’s environment.”
Founded in 1931, ALPA is the world’s largest pilot union, representing more than 51,000 pilots at 31 airlines in the United States and Canada. Visit the ALPA website at www.alpa.org or follow us on Twitter @WeAreALPA.
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CONTACT: ALPA Media, 703/481-4440 or Media@alpa.org
