U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a federal agency known for handling green cards and citizenship applications, will soon have its own police force that can arrest immigrants — and their attorneys — for fraud.
The move, a major departure from the agency’s typical operations, is the latest in the Trump administration’s escalation of immigration enforcement and deportations. Under this new rule, announced on Thursday, USCIS will be equipped with officers who can make arrests, carry firearms and execute search warrants, according to a press release from the Department of Homeland Security.
In delegating these authorities, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has also expanded the powers of the USCIS director, who will be able to order the expedited removal of immigrants, enabling the government to deport people without a hearing. This change will allow USCIS to arrest, prosecute and remove people who are accused of violating immigration laws instead of referring these cases to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The new emphasis on enforcement and deportation differs notably from the role that USCIS has usually played. Housed under the Department of Homeland Security, USCIS has historically reviewed immigrants’ applications for citizenship, permanent residency and work visas, describing itself as the agency that oversees “lawful immigration to the U.S.”
Since USCIS wasn’t centered on enforcement, “immigrants could feel comfortable submitting their personal information to the government and showing up for their interviews,” The Wall Street Journal reported.
Thursday’s announcement gives the agency a more punitive function that includes scrutinizing and penalizing immigrants for fraud in the applications they submit. This might include lying on a naturalization application about one’s criminal history or one’s relationship with a U.S. citizen.
“This historic moment will better address immigration crimes, hold those that perpetrate immigration fraud accountable, and act as a force multiplier for DHS and our federal law enforcement partners, including the Joint Terrorism Task Force,” USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow said in a statement.
This expansion also follows other recent USCIS actions that have made it tougher for immigrants to attain citizenship.
The agency recently gave officers more leeway to reject immigrants’ citizenship applications for not meeting a “good moral character” requirement. And USCIS has also reinstated neighborhood checks that could involve interviews with an applicant’s colleagues and neighbors.
Immigration attorneys have slammed the decision to reshape USCIS as an enforcement body, noting that it will intimidate immigrants and prevent them from pursuing lawful pathways to permanent U.S. residency and citizenship.
“The Trump Administration has transformed USCIS into an enforcement agency, weaponizing the immigration system against American families, asylum seekers, and businesses,” Jeff Joseph, the president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said in a statement. “The administration’s continued attacks on those who are following the rules and going through legal channels will only serve to push people further into the shadows.”