The Trump administration is directing immigration officials to screen for "anti-Americanism" in certain immigration applications, expanding the grounds that can be used to deny applications for green cards, work permits and other benefits.
The policy was announced on Tuesday by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The guidance directs officials to investigate whether applicants have "endorsed, promoted, supported or otherwise espoused anti-American views," including on social media.
It isn't immediately clear what USCIS will consider "anti-American," but the agency said it will make determinations based on a provision in immigration law that bans people from becoming U.S. citizens if they advocate for communism, totalitarianism, violence against officials or the overthrow of the U.S. government.
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The new screening requirements apply to immigrants applying for green cards, work permits and other immigration benefits, marking another significant change in immigration policy under the Trump administration.
This comes a few days after USCIS instructed officers to consider additional factors when determining if immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship meet the requirement for "good moral character."
The standard has long been one of the requirements in U.S. immigration law for American citizenship, alongside passing English and civics tests. It has typically meant not having any criminal offenses.
But now the Trump administration has updated the requirement to scrutinize an applicant's "good moral character" by focusing on one's "positive attributes and contributions." The requirements list things like community involvement, family caregiving, educational attainment and "stable and lawful" employment as some of those determining factors.
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