The Trump administration has ordered US government agencies to deny green cards to immigrants that express views critical of the Israeli government or its policies. Green cards are documents that allow immigrants to live legally in the US and gain a path to citizenship.
The Trump administration directive says that green card applicants will be vetted for anti-American and “anti-semitic” views, and can be denied a green card for posting criticism of Israel on social media, participating in pro-Palestinian protests and desecrating the American flag, according to internal Department of Homeland Security training materials reviewed by The New York Times.
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The directive includes criticism of Israel as a factor that can disqualify immigrants from receiving green cards. The documents reviewed by The New York Times show examples of questionable speech, including a social media post that declares “Stop Israeli Terror in Palestine” and shows the Israeli flag crossed out. Critics of the Trump administration’s moves say that it has conflated opposition to Israeli government policies with anti-semitism.
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The materials were distributed last month to immigration officers at US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
Immigration officers have a lot of power in deciding whether to grant foreigners long-term permanent residence in the US. The factors usually considered include criminal records, national security threats, family ties to the US and employment histories. Ideology has also traditionally been one of those factors. In some cases, US law forbids officers from granting green cards to people who have belonged to a Communist or other “totalitarian” political party.
