Policy Calls for Immigrants to Reveal Social Media

Immigrants applying for green cards, citizenship, asylum, or refugee status in the United States might soon have to disclose their social media accounts, according to a proposed policy from the Trump administration.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which oversees legal migration, proposed the policy in the Federal Register this week, saying that it is necessary for a "rigorous vetting" of people wanting immigration benefits, reported The Verge.

According to the filing, the social media policy is needed as part of President Donald Trump's executive order on protecting the U.S. from foreign terrorists and other safety threats. 

The order, signed on Trump's first day in office, requires that the Department of Homeland Security identify all resources necessary to vet and screen immigrants "to the maximum degree possible."

A public comment period is open until May 5, 60 days after the notification was published, to weigh in on the policy.

The Federal Register notice said that USICS will require applicants for immigration benefits to include their social media user names on application forms. The policy could affect more than 3.5 million people, the agency estimated.

Kathleen Bush-Joseph, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute's U.S. immigration program, said the immigration system "does not really reflect the reality of the 21st century in important ways."

She added that she will watch to determine if the new policy is part of the administration's efforts to restrict legal migration. 

Trump has already stopped refugee resettlement and rescinded the Biden administration's policy allowing temporary protected status for migrants from Venezuela and Haiti. 

The proposed regulation goes beyond a 2019 State Department policy, which required visa applicants to disclose five years of their social media history. While the older policy required disclosures from people outside the country, the new proposal will also apply to immigrants who are in the U.S. and trying to make adjustments to their statuses.

• Pentagon Orders DEI Purge From Social Media, Websites
• Seattle Joins Lawsuit Fighting Trump Immigration Policies