For Donald Trump’s government immigration, visa agency frauds are key focus
The head of the agency handling citizenship and visa applications was surprised when he faced blowback for cutting a reference to the US being a “nation of immigrants” in its mission statement. The son of a Peruvian immigrant added language about “protecting Americans” instead.
L. Francis Cissna argued that America is indisputably a nation of immigrants but that US Citizenship and Immigration Services’ mission statement wasn’t the place to say so. Joseph Edlow, who now oversees the agency, said he hasn’t thought about the 2018 kerfuffle, but it crystallized for many how the Trump administration has changed the government’s approach to legal immigration.
USCIS, established with the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, is emphasizing fraud detection, enforcement and vetting those seeking to work, live or become US citizens. Applicants, attorneys and employees call it overkill, while immigration critics say it’s overdue.
