New Trump Policy Lets USCIS Deny Green Cards Over Anti-American Views

The Trump administration has rolled out a new immigration policy giving U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) wide latitude to screen out green card and citizenship applicants based on their beliefs.

Under the updated guidance, USCIS officers can deny immigration benefits to applicants who have “endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused” antisemitic ideology, terrorist affiliations, or what the government calls “anti-American” views.

This policy applies to both new and pending applications and is already in effect.

What counts as “anti-American” isn’t clearly defined, raising questions about how this new authority will be applied. The lack of clarity has drawn concern from immigration lawyers and civil liberties advocates, who warn it opens the door to subjective enforcement and political bias.

Immigration officers are also now permitted to comb through an applicant’s social media history for red flags — a move that builds on earlier efforts by the Trump administration to monitor online content tied to antisemitism or extremist ideology.

Critics Say It’s Too Vague — Supporters Say It’s About Standards

Critics argue the policy could chill political speech and discourage immigrants from expressing controversial opinions, even those protected under the Constitution. Civil liberties groups warn that vague language like “affiliation” or “association” could be misused to target dissenting views or unpopular political associations.

David Bier of the Cato Institute says the changes could bog down the system and slow processing times for legal immigrants who now face more subjective scrutiny.

Others caution that the policy may bump up against constitutional protections, particularly for immigrants already living in the U.S., who still retain certain First Amendment and due process rights.

The Wall Street Journal further reports:

The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it would no longer turn a blind eye to those who seek to live and work in the U.S. but criticize its policies.

“If you hate America, don’t try to live in America. It’s that simple,” a DHS spokesperson said.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, a national immigrant advocacy group, said relying on broad phrases to determine eligibility to live and work in the U.S. could be problematic. 

“The term anti-American is ill-defined and malleable,” he said. “What one person may consider anti-American another person might consider pro-American.”

A Harder Line on Who Gets In

Supporters say the new policy underscores a basic truth: immigration is a privilege, not a right. The U.S. is under no obligation to grant citizenship or green cards to individuals who are hostile to its values or institutions.

The move reflects a broader trend in Trump’s second term — tightening entry standards while placing stronger emphasis on moral and cultural alignment with American principles.

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