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A2 UP FRONT
Monday 2 noveMber 2020
Under Trump, citizenship and visa agency focuses on fraud

Continued from Front whether such applicants
are called in depends on
Making it tougher to get the case. The agency is
permission to live and work bringing back Trump's rule
in America has had con- that dramatically expands
sequences for USCIS itself: criteria for denying green
its roughly $5 billion annual cards to those receiving
budget is funded almost taxpayer-funded benefits.
entirely by application The U.S. Supreme Court de-
fees, which have dwindled cided in a 5-4 vote in Janu-
with the stricter rules. Finan- ary that the policy could
cial pressures mounted this take effect, but enforce-
summer as USCIS narrowly ment was briefly halted by
averted furloughs for 70% a federal judge due to the
of its roughly 20,000 em- coronavirus.
ployees. Processing times for em-
Curbing legal immigra- ployment-based green
tion has been a priority for cards jumped to 14.5
President Donald Trump as months in an 11-month
he's reshaped the immigra- period ending Aug. 31, up
tion system, arguably more from 6.8 months in the 2016
than any predecessor. He's fiscal year. For citizenship, it
thrilled supporters with an In this June 4, 2020, file photo, new citizens, socially distanced, recite the pledge of allegiance rose to 9.1 months from 5.6
outside the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services building in Lawrence, Mass.
"America first" message Associated Press months.
and infuriated critics who An analysis of all visa cat-
call his signature domestic migration. a sharp contrast: preserve workforce "came to see it- egories by the American
issue insular, xenophobic Trump failed to get Con- family-based immigration self as a representative of Immigration Lawyers As-
and even racist. gress to support cuts to and "streamline" naturaliza- the benefit-seeker rather sociation found long waits
Before the election, The As- the system of immigrants tion for green-card holders. than the representative of doubled to 10 months in
sociated Press is examining bringing over relatives, but He wants a path to citizen- the American people." the 2019 fiscal year from
several Trump immigration Stephen Miller, a top Trump ship for about 11 million "This administration has un- five years earlier.
policies, including r estric- adviser, said moving to a people in the U.S. illegally, dertaken a thorough re- Natividad Rodriguez, 85,
tions on international stu- more "merit based" system, which would require con- vamping of the agency has been waiting since
dents, a retreat from Amer- based on skills, would be gressional support. to restore its congressional July 2019 for a citizenship
ica's humanitarian role, a a priority if the president is Miller told the AP that USCIS mission of ensuring that interview, the final step
virtual shutdown of asylum reelected. was plagued by a "huge benefits are only awarded before the oath. The Chi-
and now curbing legal im- Democrat Joe Biden offers amount of fraud" and its to those who are genuinely cago woman and Mexi-
eligible under law and that, can native had hoped to
ensuring in admitting them, vote this year. "We have
no harm is done to our eco- been waiting a long time,"
nomic or national security said daughter Ana Mar-
interests," he said. ia Fuentes, who helped
Some critics say USCIS her mother apply. "It's too
hasn't provided enough much time."
evidence of widespread In their defense, administra-
fraud. Even Louis D. Crocet- tion officials note they ap-
ti Jr., first director of USCIS' proved more than 800,000
anti-fraud unit who sup- citizenship applications
ports Trump's policies and in fiscal 2019, the highest
calls fraud common, says since 2008.
the agency should release But the administration also
more findings. is trying to reduce applica-
"If you don't do that, how tions. For example, USCIS
can you really justify get- last year started requiring
ting the millions of dollars that no spaces on forms be
and continuing your oper- left blank, even if a ques-
ation?" said Crocetti, who tion doesn't apply, like a
retired in 2011. middle name. Agency of-
The changes are evident in ficials say employees were
USCIS offices. Workers who taking too much time filling
decide on citizenship and in incomplete applications.
permanent residency ap- Blank spaces have led to
plications in the San Diego rejections, attorneys say.
office saw their workload An American Immigration
grow about 20% when offi- Lawyers Association sur-
cials ordered all applicants vey this year found nearly
for employment-based 200 examples nationwide.
green cards be inter- Applications also were re-
viewed. jected for writing "none" or
Edlow said the blanket "not applicable" instead of
interview requirement "N/A," which most instruc-
has been scrapped and tions said to use. q