Immigration News Weekly

August 28 - September 3

How Trump Made It That Much Harder to Become a US Citizen
VOX | Nicole Narea | September 3
"Immigrants have applied to become US citizens in increasing numbers since Donald Trump took office, which some policy analysts say is the effect of the president’s anti-immigrant rhetoric. But the path hasn’t been easy. They’re facing ballooning processing times, higher fees, more intensive vetting, and even the possibility of later losing their citizenship at the hands of the Department of Justice’s newly created “denaturalization section,” which it announced in February 2020. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the agency that processes applications for immigration benefits, has reopened its offices, but it’s also grappling with a budget crisis amid the coronavirus pandemic and struggling to keep up with the naturalization backlog."

Residents Waiting For Citizenship Are Worried They'll Miss Their Chance to Register to Vote This Year Amid a Backlog of Applications
Business Insider | Sarah Al-Arshani | September 2
"An undisclosed number of citizenship applications are currently backlogged, possibly preventing many residents who are in the final stages of their citizenship from registering to vote in the upcoming November elections, The Washington Post reported. In July, The Arizona Republic reported that more than 300,000 immigrants were at risk of not being able to vote in the presidential election due to delays caused by Trump administration policy changes and the coronavirus pandemic. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services did not say how many applications are backlogged at this point but told The Post there were hundreds of thousands of citizenship applications pending."

U.S. Seeks to Expand Biometric Data It Collects From Immigrants
The Wall Street Journal | Michelle Hackman |  September 2
"The Department of Homeland Security said it would propose expanding the types of biometric information that immigrants may need to submit with their applications, possibly including iris scans, voice recordings and DNA samples. The proposal, which DHS said it would release within days, would also allow the government to require that biometric data be submitted with any sort of immigration application, including from U.S. citizens who are sponsoring relatives from abroad to immigrate to the U.S. Currently, immigrants applying for visas, green cards or other immigration benefits that require background checks must submit fingerprints and photographs along with their applications. The proposal would also create an expanded definition of “biometrics,” so that DHS can begin requiring new forms of identification via biological information and other physical characteristics as the technology becomes available."