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Trump's USCIS Cranks Up Citizenship Vetting With ‘Good Moral Character' Evaluation
The Trump administration has directed U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to intensify scrutiny of immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship by emphasizing a more subjective evaluation of 'good moral character.' A USCIS memo dated August 15 calls for a 'rigorous, holistic and comprehensive' approach to assessing naturalization applicants, defining 'good moral character' as an individual's 'behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions.' Officers are instructed to evaluate applicants on a case-by-case basis, considering not only the absence of misconduct but also 'positive attributes' such as family caregiving, sustained community involvement, educational attainment, stable employment, and tax compliance. 'GMC findings must go beyond the absence of disqualifying acts, it must reflect a genuine positive assessment of who the alien is and how they have lived in their community,' the memo states, using an abbreviation for good moral character. The directive also allows officers to deny applications based on 'any other acts that are contrary to the average behavior of citizens' in the applicant's community, even if technically legal, such as reckless or habitual traffic infractions or soliciting. Applicants with conditional bars, like multiple DUI convictions, must provide 'affirmative evidence of reform,' such as compliance with court orders or payment of overdue taxes. 'In assessing conditional bars officers have authority — and now explicit directive — to weigh all relevant evidence, both adverse and favorable, before granting or denying naturalization,' the memo reads. Experts warn that the vague language could lead to inconsistent and arbitrary decisions. Jane Lopez, an associate professor of sociology at Brigham Young University specializing in immigration policy, noted that while evaluating good moral character is not new, the memo emphasizes officers' ability to 'impose their subjective interpretations of this fuzzy concept.' She added that the policy could 'make it harder for noncitizens to obtain legal belonging in the United States' since officers 'must evaluate something they cannot consistently describe or define,' per The Washington Post. Good moral character has been a requirement for citizenship since the Naturalization Act of 1790, typically met by the absence of serious crimes like murder or aggravated felonies. The new guidance, however, shifts the burden to applicants to demonstrate positive contributions. Between 600,000 and 1 million immigrants have been naturalized annually since 2015, with naturalized citizens comprising over half of the U.S. foreign-born population in 2023, according to USCIS data. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
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Trump: Smithsonian should portray nation's 'Brightness,' not 'how bad Slavery was'
President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed the White House is conducting a review of the Smithsonian museums and expressed frustration over their portrayal of dark parts of America's history, including slavery. "The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL, where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been -- Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future," Trump wrote on his social media platform. MORE: White House to conduct review of Smithsonian museum exhibitions to ensure they fit with Trump's view of American history "We are not going to allow this to happen, and I have instructed my attorneys to go through the Museums, and start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities where tremendous progress has been made," Trump added. "This Country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE. We have the 'HOTTEST' Country in the World, and we want people to talk about it, including in our Museums." The Smithsonian declined to comment. ABC News reported last week that the White House planned to do a wide-ranging review of the Smithsonian Institution's exhibitions and operations ahead of America's 250th anniversary next year. In a letter sent to Lonnie Bunch, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the White House wrote that it wants to ensure that the museums "reflect the unity, progress, and enduring values that define the American story." When Trump visited The National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2017, he had a different opinion about the discussion of slavery in the museum. In his remarks that day he praised Bunch, the current secretary of the Smithsonian who was then the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Trump referred to the museum as "incredible," "done with love," and a "truly great museum." He praised abolitionist figures Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. He even recounted a story he'd learned about a runaway slave. He called the tour of the museum "a meaningful reminder of why we have to fight bigotry, intolerance and hatred in all of its very ugly forms." MORE: Smithsonian removes references to Trump's impeachments from 'Limits of Presidential Power' exhibit -- for now The White House review is said to be focused on eight museums, including The National Museum of African American History and Culture, The National Museum of American History, The National Museum of Natural History, The National Museum of the American Indian, The Smithsonian American Art Museum, The National Air and Space Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and The Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Trump signed an executive order back in March directing Vice President JD Vance and Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum to "remove improper ideology" from all areas of the Smithsonian. Last week, ABC News visited the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History and National Museum of African American History and Culture, and took photographs of multiple exhibits displayed information and historical artifacts about slavery, segregation and the civil rights movement. ABC News' Averi Harper, Hannah Demissie and Emily Chang contributed to this report.
Yahoo
5 minutes ago
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US accepts Brazil's WTO consultation request over tariffs
By Isabel Teles SAO PAULO (Reuters) -The United States has accepted a request for consultations from Brazil at the World Trade Organization regarding tariffs it imposed on its goods, even as it argued the levies are a matter of national security, according to a document posted on the WTO website. President Donald Trump slapped a 50% tariff on most Brazilian imports earlier this month, in response to what he has called a "witch hunt" against his Brazilian ally, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial on charges of plotting a coup following his election loss in 2022. In the document submitted to the WTO on Monday, the U.S. argues that certain requests from Brazil relate to issues of national security, which are "political matters not susceptible to review or capable of resolution by WTO dispute settlement." The tariffs, the document added, were necessary because recent policies and practices of Brazil are "undermining the rule of law and threatening the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States."
