WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is replacing its mission statement and removing its description of the U.S. as a “nation of immigrants.”
The change signals that the agency no longer sees “promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship” as part of its mission.
The following is a quote from Ali Noorani, Executive Director of the National Immigration Forum:
“Chloe Kim, gold medal snowboarder, is a child of immigrants. Emmanuel Mensah, an immigrant from Ghana, enlisted in the National Guard and died while rescuing his neighbors from a building fire in New York City. Anthony Borges, an immigrant from Venezuela, saved 20 of his fellow students’ lives in the tragic Parkland, Florida shooting. These are three, among millions, who make America a nation of immigrants.
“Being a nation of immigrants is not a flaw, but an ideal that we must celebrate and uphold. Omitting this phrase suggests the Trump administration does not value immigrants or immigration to the nation. To put a finer point on it, the agency charged with ensuring we are a nation of immigrants no longer sees that as their mission.
“Embracing our identity as a nation of immigrants is a fundamental part of what makes America great. USCIS’s decision to stop calling America a ‘nation of immigrants’ in its mission statement is completely at odds with what defines and unites us as a nation.”