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AILA Doc. No. 19022633 | Dated March 3, 2020
Dramatic changes in USCIS policy under the Trump administration have undermined the legal immigration system that the agency was created to facilitate. Just one evidence of this change is a quote from USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli. “First of all, I see USCIS as a vetting agency, not a benefits agency,” Cuccinelli told Fox News in an interview near the Texas-Mexico border in 2019. “We have benefits that we give when people meet legal thresholds but it’s on them to prove they’ve done it and it’s our job to make sure those are going to people who have in fact met those thresholds, and we’re protecting America by screening people trying to come in and stay here a long time,” he said.
This webpage provides key updates, analysis, media coverage, and other resources that bring the nature and destructive impacts of these changes into relief. The page also highlights how members and the public can join AILA in holding USCIS accountable for failing its statutory mission—a failure causing hardship to families, vulnerable populations, and U.S. businesses around the country. Through this accountability initiative, AILA strives for a service-oriented, fair, and efficient USCIS—the one that Congress envisioned and the public deserves.
How You Can Join AILA in Holding USCIS Accountable / H.R. 5971: The Case Backlog Transparency and Accountability Act of 2020 / 2019 Congressional Hearing on USCIS Processing Delays / USCIS and the "Invisible Wall" / USCIS's Ongoing Transformation into an Immigration Enforcement Agency / Harmful Impacts on U.S. Businesses of H-1B and Other Policy Changes / Crisis-Level Processing Delays / Non-Military Deferred Action Requests at Field Offices / Harmful Impacts on U.S. Military and Veterans / "Notice to Appear" Policy / H-4 Work Authorization / Denaturalization / Public Charge / F, J, M Visa Policy / Deportation "Traps" / RFE/NOID Policy / Additional Resources
During a House Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship hearing entitled, “Processing Delays and Policy Changes at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,” AILA President Marketa Lindt testified that misguided USCIS policies are core drivers of the agency’s crisis-level case processing delays. View her testimony and related resources below.
Cite as AILA Doc. No. 19022633.
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