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Topics: Immigration, News, Politics, US News
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Immigration, News, Politics, US News
President Trump and his administation are once again making it harder for immigrants become official US citizens.
From making major changes to naturalization in America, to stripping refugees and other lawful immigrants of their access to Medicare, Trump supposedly wants to 'Make America Great Again' by making life even harder for those who aren't a 'real' American in his eyes.
His latest move could see nearly 400 Americans be denaturalized. Naturalization is the formal process by which a non-citizen becomes a US citizen, after meeting specific legal requirements set by the Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Now the Trump administration has brought in new advice regarding those applying for Green Cards and stated that kind of behaviors might lead to them having their applications denied.
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In documents seen by The New York Times, Green Card hopefuls can now be turned away if they express political opinions.
Criticism of Israel is now a potentially disqualifying factor and training materials have cited that things such as 'Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine' being penned on social media by someone is now seen as 'questionable speech'.
Reportedly these kind of materials were given to immigration officers at US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) last month.
Acts such as desecrating the American flag and taking part in pro-Palestine protests could also find someone getting their application denied, PEOPLE reports.
The news comes after USCIS announced in August that it was updating its guidance to officers and had 'expanded the types of benefit requests that receive social media vetting, and reviews for anti-American activity will be added to that vetting'.
USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said at the time: "America’s benefits should not be given to those who despise the country and promote anti-American ideologies. US Citizenship and Immigration Services is committed to implementing policies and procedures that root out anti-Americanism and supporting the enforcement of rigorous screening and vetting measures to the fullest extent possible.
"Immigration benefits—including to live and work in the United States—remain a privilege, not a right."
It won't come as a surprise that Trump administration’s policies have led to a spike in denials, even for those who are seen as an 'Alien of Extraordinary Ability'.
The USCIS website defences this kind of person as someone who can 'demonstrate extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim'.
In Q4 of 2024, there was a 25.6 percent rate of denial for these types of immigrants wanting to come into the US, says Forbes. But, fast forward to Q4 of 2025 and this denial rate skyrocketed to 46.6 percent.