Latest news with #moralcharacter
The Independent
15 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump administration revises ‘good moral character' citizenship requirement
The Trump administration is expanding the 'good moral character' test for US citizenship, requiring a 'holistic assessment' of applicants' behavior and contributions. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officers will now consider positive attributes like community involvement and education, alongside negative factors such as repeated traffic infractions or harassment, even if lawful. A USCIS spokesperson stated that US citizenship should be reserved for 'the world's best of the best' and that the agency screens for 'anti-American activity' when vetting applications. This policy is part of Trump's broader agenda to crack down on immigration, which includes potential mass deportations and reviewing immigrants' social media for reasons to reject applications. Experts suggest the new guidance aims to restrict legal immigration by broadening grounds for denial, with concerns that its discretionary nature could lead to arbitrary enforcement.
The Independent
a day ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump expands ‘good moral character' test to become a U.S. citizen. Here's what it means
The Trump administration is taking steps to expand the 'good moral character' test for U.S. citizenship. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced that officers will be told to give more than a 'cursory mechanical review focused on the absence of wrongdoing.' They will instead be ordered to organize 'a holistic assessment of an alien's behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions that affirmatively demonstrate good moral character.' The agency stated in a Friday memo that current rules will remain in place, meaning that citizenship will not be awarded to people who have taken part in serious offenses such as murder and other violent crimes. The memo also summarized new criteria for becoming a U.S. citizen. 'U.S. citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship — it should only be offered to the world's best of the best,' a spokesperson for the agency, Matthew Tragesser, told The Hill. President Donald Trump has made cracking down on immigration a top priority in his second term, starting what could be the most significant domestic deportation effort in the history of the country. He has also threatened to remove the citizenship of some who have already been naturalized. USCIS revealed in April that it would review immigrants' social media feeds for antisemitism and use posts as possible reasons for rejecting applications for visas and green cards. What is good moral character? According to the new policy, immigration officers must take into account any evidence of moral character, such as an applicant's community involvement and educational level, in addition to possible negative information, including repeated DUI convictions or actions that 'while technically lawful, may be inconsistent with civic responsibility within the community, such as reckless or habitual traffic infractions, or harassment or aggressive solicitation.' Officers will also take into account any evidence of reformed characters, including paying back taxes or adhering to probation conditions. What has changed? Experts note that the new policy should be viewed through the broader prism of the Trump administration's efforts to restrict legal immigration. Former Biden administration official Doug Rand told CBS News that the Trump administration is 'trying to increase the grounds for denial of U.S. citizenship by kind of torturing the definition of good moral character to encompass extremely harmless behavior.' An associate professor of sociology at Brigham Young University, Jane Lopez, told The Washington Post that the new order 'is not necessarily a break from past practice.' However, she added that it noted the ability of USCIS officers to 'impose their subjective interpretations of this fuzzy concept in their evaluations of naturalization applicants.' She added that all applications for naturalization, permanent residency, and various kinds of visas will be evaluated by one or more USCIS officers, and they already have the ability to 'deny that application for a multitude of reasons.' While having 'good moral character' has been a requirement to become a U.S. citizen since the 1790 Naturalization Act, Lopez noted that citizenship applicants now have to prove that they have 'positive attributes' instead of just proving that they haven't been convicted of any crimes or been a part of other types of wrongdoing. The new USCIS memo states that 'family caregiving, responsibility, and ties in the United States' are examples that can be considered as positive attributes. Tragesser told The Post that officers will take into account applicants' contributions to American society, such as 'community involvement, achievements, and financial responsibility, rather than the absence of their misconduct.' An immigration law professor at the University of California at Davis, Gabriel Chin, told the paper that the most recent guidance is 'so loose and discretionary that it is obviously susceptible to arbitrary enforcement.' 'Many birthright U.S. citizens do not have sufficient educational or economic achievements that would entitle them to a visa to immigrate to the United States,' said Chin. 'If they had not been born here, they would not make the cut.' Who will it impact? Lopez argued that the new policy could 'make it harder for noncitizens to obtain legal belonging in the United States' because officers have to 'evaluate something they cannot consistently describe or define.' The guidance also argues for increased scrutiny of actions that may disqualify an applicant for aggravated felonies, in addition to other behaviors, such as illegal gambling or drug violations. The memo also states that other disqualifying actions include lawful behaviors, but which are "inconsistent with civic responsibility within the community,' such as frequent traffic violations or solicitation.
Washington Post
a day ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
U.S. citizenship reviews will sharpen focus on ‘moral character,' memo says
The Trump administration has signaled it will further scrutinize immigrants seeking U.S. citizenship by ordering authorities to double down on efforts to determine whether applicants have 'good moral character,' according to a recent policy memo issued by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration expands ‘good moral character' requirement for naturalized citizenship
The Trump administration is moving to expand scrutiny of immigrants' 'good moral character' when deciding on citizenship applications. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced officers will be instructed to seek more than a 'cursory mechanical review focused on the absence of wrongdoing' and instead conduct "a holistic assessment of an alien's behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions that affirmatively demonstrate good moral character." In a memo shared on Friday, the agency said existing rules will remain, such as bars on granting citizenship to people shown to have conducted serious offenses including murder and torture, while outlining new criteria for naturalization. 'U.S. citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship — it should only be offered to the world's best of the best,' agency spokesperson Matthew J. Tragesser said in a statement to The Hill. Under the new policy, immigration officers are directed to factor in positive evidence of moral character, like an immigrant's community involvement and education attainment, as well as negative information, such as repeated DUI convictions or actions that 'while technically lawful, may be inconsistent with civic responsibility within the community, such as reckless or habitual traffic infractions, or harassment or aggressive solicitation.' Officers will also consider evidence of reformed character, such as paying back taxes, or complying with probation conditions. Experts said the new policy broke with precedent and could be seen within the larger context of the Trump administration's steps to limit legal immigration and settlement within the U.S. "They're trying to increase the grounds for denial of U.S. citizenship by kind of torturing the definition of good moral character to encompass extremely harmless behavior," Doug Rand, a former senior official at the agency during the Biden administration, told CBS News. Elsewhere, the Trump administration has functionally shut down refugee resettlement into the U.S., while reportedly mulling a new 40,000-person refugee cap with most slots going to white South Africans. The White House has also pushed for a non-traditional mid-decade census that would exclude undocumented immigrants, breaking with over two centuries of precedent of the census counting all residents of particular states, U.S. citizens and otherwise. In March, the administration also suspended processing for certain classes of applications to be a legal permanent resident, otherwise known as obtaining a green card. The Trump administration has also revoked more than 6,000 student visas since January and has moved to end a variety of Biden-era legal immigration and humanitarian immigration parole programs.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Trump administration expands ‘good moral character' requirement for naturalized citizenship
The Trump administration is moving to expand scrutiny of immigrants' 'good moral character' when deciding on citizenship applications. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced officers will be instructed to seek more than a 'cursory mechanical review focused on the absence of wrongdoing' and instead conduct "a holistic assessment of an alien's behavior, adherence to societal norms, and positive contributions that affirmatively demonstrate good moral character." In a memo shared on Friday, the agency said existing rules will remain, such as bars on granting citizenship to people shown to have conducted serious offenses including murder and torture, while outlining new criteria for naturalization. 'U.S. citizenship is the gold standard of citizenship — it should only be offered to the world's best of the best,' agency spokesperson Matthew J. Tragesser said in a statement to The Hill. Under the new policy, immigration officers are directed to factor in positive evidence of moral character, like an immigrant's community involvement and education attainment, as well as negative information, such as repeated DUI convictions or actions that 'while technically lawful, may be inconsistent with civic responsibility within the community, such as reckless or habitual traffic infractions, or harassment or aggressive solicitation.' Officers will also consider evidence of reformed character, such as paying back taxes, or complying with probation conditions. Experts said the new policy broke with precedent and could be seen within the larger context of the Trump administration's steps to limit legal immigration and settlement within the U.S. "They're trying to increase the grounds for denial of U.S. citizenship by kind of torturing the definition of good moral character to encompass extremely harmless behavior," Doug Rand, a former senior official at the agency during the Biden administration, told CBS News. Elsewhere, the Trump administration has functionally shut down refugee resettlement into the U.S., while reportedly mulling a new 40,000-person refugee cap with most slots going to white South Africans. The White House has also pushed for a non-traditional mid-decade census that would exclude undocumented immigrants, breaking with over two centuries of precedent of the census counting all residents of particular states, U.S. citizens and otherwise. In March, the administration also suspended processing for certain classes of applications to be a legal permanent resident, otherwise known as obtaining a green card. The Trump administration has also revoked more than 6,000 student visas since January and has moved to end a variety of Biden-era legal immigration and humanitarian immigration parole programs.
