The Donald Trump administration of the United States, which is accelerating the expulsion of illegal immigrants, reportedly plans to strengthen citizenship review.
According to CBS broadcasts and others on the 16th (local time), the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under the Department of Homeland Security sent guidelines the previous day to citizenship review officials to strengthen the procedures for determining applicants' "good moral character." The guidelines will add a moral character verification item to the requirements for obtaining citizenship, assessing applicants' educational level, tax status, and whether they have a history of habitual traffic violations.
Immigrants who obtain U.S. permanent residency (green card) can apply for citizenship after approximately five years. According to USCIS statistics, over the past decade, the number of immigrants who have acquired citizenship has reached 600,000 to 1 million each year.
Currently, to obtain citizenship, applicants must undergo a moral character verification in addition to an English test and a citizenship knowledge assessment, but it has been relatively easy to pass if they have not committed acts that would disqualify them or engaged in criminal activities as specified by U.S. immigration law.
However, the new guidelines issued by the immigration agency specify that when assessing good moral character, they should include "more than superficial reviews focusing only on whether there have been illegal acts."
The immigration agency emphasized the importance of applicants' positive traits and contributions, suggesting that factors such as community involvement, family support and relationships, educational level, stable and legal employment, duration of stay in the United States, and tax contributions should be assessed.
They stated to strengthen the verification of lack of morality, reviewing whether applicants have engaged in "technically legal" but "actions that do not align with the responsibilities of community members." This includes habitual traffic violations, harassment, and bribery.
They also directed that careful checks should be made for materials that can verify whether applicants have a history of involvement in illegal activities, such as compliance with probation in the community, payment of overdue taxes, and documents related to child support.
President Trump is aggressively pursuing anti-immigration policies, including a halt to refugee admissions, crackdowns on illegal residents, and deportations.