The Trump administration is increasing the requirement for immigrants who’re hoping to become US residents to show “good moral character,” in a transfer that some immigration legal professionals denounced as a troubling change that provides uncertainty to the naturalization course of.
US Citizenship and Immigration Services, an company inside the Department of Homeland Security that administers the nation’s authorized immigration system, directed its officers in a memo last week to extra closely take into account each constructive and destructive “attributes or contributions” of individuals going by way of the naturalization course of to become US residents.
The memo, which was despatched to USCIS officers on Friday, requires them to take a extra “holistic approach in evaluating whether or not an alien seeking naturalization has affirmatively established that he or she has met their burden of establishing that they are worthy of assuming the rights and responsibilities of United States Citizenship.”
The company mentioned in an announcement that the brand new coverage is meant to guarantee its officers are accounting extra closely for an immigrant’s constructive attributes, somewhat than merely the “absence of misconduct,” to mirror their character.
“U.S. citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship—it should only be offered to the world’s best of the best,” USCIS spokesperson Matthew J. Tragesser mentioned in an announcement.
The normal to present good moral character has lengthy been a part of the naturalization course of within the US. But immigration attorneys informed NCS that the memo is designed in a method that locations further burdens on folks going by way of the method.
Emily Ryo, a professor of regulation and sociology at Duke University whose analysis focuses on immigration, mentioned the “mandate is likely to introduce a great deal of uncertainty, unpredictability, and administrative burden.”
“What does it mean to require that a noncitizen ‘affirmatively’ establish that they are ‘worthy’ of US citizenship?” Ryo mentioned in an electronic mail. “What kind of documentation will noncitizens be required to provide to make this affirmative showing, and how exactly are the officials to weigh and verify such evidence?”
Susan Ramos, an immigration lawyer based mostly in Arizona, described the coverage change as “troubling” and mentioned it “appears to effectively change the substantive requirements for naturalization without notice and comment, just by policy.”
“It creates a new subjective standard without providing the analysis that will be performed in adjudicating an application for naturalization,” Ramos mentioned. “For example, how much volunteer work is enough to tip the scales in favor of the applicant? Who decides that formula, and using what analysis? What will USCIS consider sufficient achievement for someone who doesn’t work?”
And as a result of the directive is broadly written, it makes it tougher to problem a person officer’s choice on whether or not the character normal has been met, mentioned Kathrin Mautino, a California-based immigration lawyer.
“Generally, it will give individual officers more authority to ask about private lives,” Mautino mentioned.
But the memo does comprise some extra concrete and stringent necessities for potential new residents.
Previously, immigrants who owed overdue taxes have been required to solely present they have been taking part in a cost plan with the IRS to meet the character normal, Mautino mentioned. But the brand new memo now requires the “full payment” of overdue taxes, in addition to different obligations together with child-support funds.
USCIS mentioned within the memo that is to make certain immigrants “who have engaged in wrongdoing are properly rehabilitated and reformed.”
People who’ve a number of visitors tickets can now be discovered to lack good moral character, in addition to individuals who interact in “harassment or aggressive solicitation,” although it’s not clear what the memo means by that.
The up to date coverage is only one method the Trump administration is extra closely scrutinizing the lives of individuals making use of for citizenship or for the proper to reside, work or research within the United States.
In late May, the US State Department ordered embassies to pause visa interviews for worldwide college students so they might extra closely scrutinize college students’ social media. The pause was lifted after the State Department informed embassies to display screen for “hostile attitudes towards our citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles.”
On Tuesday, USCIS introduced that sort of vetting will increase to search out “anti-American” attitudes in these looking for immigration-related advantages akin to the proper to reside or work within the US.