The Trump administration has suspended issuance of some green card applications as part of an aggressive vetting exercise for certain individuals, including approved refugees, as part of a broader immigration vetting effort, reported CBS News.
Immigrants seeking a green card in the US must petition (apply) to transfer their temporary status once in the country through the Adjustment of Status process. Adjustment of Status is a critical process that allows eligible noncitizens living in the United States to transfer from their current immigration status to Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status without leaving the country.
CBS News reports that, according to the sources who requested anonymity to discuss an action that has not been publicly reported, USCIS has ordered its officials not to process legal permanent residency requests for refugees or asylum-seeking immigrants.
The Department of Homeland Security has confirmed CBS News’ report that a green card processing pause is necessary to comply with the Executive Orders issued by President Trump.
One of the first presidential actions taken by Donald Trump, President of the United States of America, was to sign the National Security and Public Safety Threats. In that Order, Trump says that it is the policy of the United States to protect its citizens from aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.
To protect Americans, the United States must be diligent during the visa-issuance process to guarantee that those foreigners admitted to the country have no intention of harming Americans or national interests.
More significantly, they must be identified before being admitted or entering the United States. Furthermore, the United States must ensure that admitted aliens and those already present in the country do not harbor hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists or other threats to national security.
The Executive Order says that the United States must identify them before their admission or entry into the United States. And the United States must ensure that admitted aliens and aliens otherwise already present in the United States do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security.
The Secretary of State, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of National Intelligence, have been tasked to identify all resources that may be used to ensure that all aliens seeking admission to the United States, or who are already in the United States, are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible.
Such vetting and screening will be to the maximum degree possible for all aliens who intend to be admitted, enter, or are already inside the United States, particularly those aliens coming from regions or nations with identified security risks.
In this vetting process, these authorities have also been asked to connect with government’s of other countries to determine the information needed from any country to adjudicate any visa, admission, or other benefit under the INA for one of its nationals, and to ascertain whether the individual seeking the benefit is who the individual claims to be and that the individual is not a security or public-safety threat.
Most importantly, Trump wants to re-establish a uniform baseline for screening and vetting standards and procedures, consistent with the uniform baseline that existed on January 19, 2021, that will be used for any alien seeking a visa or immigration benefit of any kind.
Trump has also asked authorities to evaluate all visa programs to ensure that they are not used by foreign nation-states or other hostile actors to harm the security, economic, political, cultural, or other national interests of the United States.