WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration has announced the revival of a long-dormant policy, originally created in 1965 and unenforced since 1990, that mandates neighborhood checks for citizenship applicants. This move, along with the re-evaluated standard to assess good moral character, is the latest in a series of actions by USCIS that have systematically altered the criteria for becoming an American and who gets to fully participate in our democracy. These include implementing increased social media scrutiny and escalating the overall requirements to obtain citizenship. Such increased barriers will create a catastrophic application backlog, strain agency resources, intimidate eligible applicants, and, in the process, erode democratic participation.

Said Nicole Melaku, NPNA executive director, “This is yet another attempt by the Trump Administration to intimidate people and families away from applying for naturalization. Along with screening for vague criteria such as ‘Americanism’ and ‘good moral character,’ USCIS is quickly becoming another arm of ICE’s Gestapo-like operations, looking to funnel more people into its racist and xenophobic deportation machine. The National Partnership for New Americans, along with our 88 members, wants to affirm that seeking U.S. citizenship should always remain accessible, as it is a critical way to ensure a representative democracy. The executive overreach and desperate grasps for power must end now.

We urge those seeking citizenship to remain vigilant in their applications and seek legal advice through the Ready to Stay legal resource hub.”

###
The National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA) is a multi-ethnic, multiracial coalition of 88 of the nation’s largest immigrant and refugee rights organizations with reach across over 42 states. Together with our members, we advance immigrant and refugee equity and inclusion, build and expand immigration legal services and integration programming capacity, and drive campaigns that strengthen democracy through increased civic participation. See our website for more information at partnershipfornewamericans.org.