U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the primary agency in charge of legal immigration, said Tuesday that its officers should give significant weight to evidence that an immigrant “has any involvement in anti-American or terrorist organizations” when reviewing residency, work and visa applications.
PREMIUM The Trump administration plans to scrutinize social media for “anti-American ideologies” when deciding to grant visa or green-card applications.(AFP FILE)
When it comes to what registers as anti-American ideology, the updated guidance points to a provision of immigration law dating back to the Cold War that prohibits immigrants from becoming U.S. citizens if they are members of communist or anarchist organizations. It doesn’t specify the range of speech the administration would categorize as anti-American. The Department of Homeland Security didn’t respond to a request for clarification.
“America’s benefits should not be given to those who despise the country and promote anti-American ideologies,” USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said Tuesday.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, a national immigrant advocacy group, said relying on broad phrases to determine eligibility to live and work in the U.S. could be problematic.
“The term anti-American is ill-defined and malleable,” he said. “What one person may consider anti-American another person might consider pro-American.”
The latest directive builds on the agency’s April announcement that it would screen immigrants’ social media for evidence of antisemitism. As part of that shift, many immigrants, including those applying for tourist or student visas to the U.S., must now submit their social-media handles and make their profiles public for officers to review.
It is another step in the Trump administration’s goal of not only reducing overall immigration levels, but also in shaping the types of immigrants permitted to come to the country. The administration has also used allegations of anti-American and antisemitic activity against students who have participated in pro-Palestine protests.
The administration also tightened citizenship standards last week in a separate policy memorandum that said applicants will need to prove “good moral character.” That includes contributing to the community, having a good education, holding down a job and paying taxes on time, according to Homeland Security.
Write to Jack Morphet at jack.morphet@wsj.com, Victoria Albert at victoria.albert@wsj.com and Michelle Hackman at michelle.hackman@wsj.com
Stay updated with US News covering politics, crime, weather, local events, and sports highlights. Get the latest on Donald Trump and American politics also realtime updates on Indonesia ferry fire. Stay updated with US News covering politics, crime, weather, local events, and sports highlights. Get the latest on Donald Trump and American politics also realtime updates on Indonesia ferry fire.
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