Subscribe to Receive the Daily Report

Monday, February 26th, 2018

America No Longer A ‘Nation of Immigrants,’ USCIS Says

Author:     RICHARD GONZALES
Source:     npr
Publication Date:     February 22, 20186:18 PM ET
 Link: America No Longer A ‘Nation of Immigrants,’ USCIS Says
Stephan:   Every single person in the United States is an immigrant or the descendent of immigrants. Donald Trump's wife is an immigrant, and her family is here as a result of what he calls "chain migration," which he says he opposes. His daughter is married to a man whose family are recent immigrants. So what is this great immigration debate really about? The answer is obvious to anyone who actually looks at reality through the prism of facts: White supremacy, a world view based on hate and fear. And thanks to Trump this cowardly perspective is in such an ascendent position that it has reached the point described in this report, to our great national shame. Remember the Statue of Liberty, with her plaque saying, "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"? Well forget it, the plaque should be taken down. That was an America of another age.

People wave U.S. flags during a 2017 naturalization ceremony at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Credit: Jae C. Hong/AP

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services is changing its mission statement to eliminate a passage that describes the U.S. as “a nation of immigrants.” (emphasis added)

The agency’s new mission statement as it appears on the agency’s website reads:

“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers the nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values.”

Here is USCIS’s previous mission statement:

“USCIS secures America’s promise as a nation of immigrants by providing accurate and useful information to our customers, granting immigration and citizenship benefits, promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship, and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system.”

The removal of the phrase “nation of immigrants” was announced to agency staff in an email letter from Director L. Francis Cissna.

In the letter, Cissna said, “I believe this simple, straightforward statement clearly defines the agency’s role in our country’s lawful immigration […]

Read the Full Article

3 Comments

  1. sam on Monday, February 26, 2018 at 6:07 am

    No piece of land can support an unlimited number of people. The homeless, hunger, and poverty rates in the US tell us we exceeded our carrying capacity years ago.

    • Gus DiZerega on Monday, February 26, 2018 at 8:03 am

      Europe seems to indicate otherwise- more crowded and more prosperous. As to environmental sustainability- you seem to be on stronger ground, but those who agree with you about immigration seem committed to being as unsustainable as possible. Plus the sustainability issue is a world wide one, not one for just us.

  2. Rev. Dean on Monday, February 26, 2018 at 9:10 am

    My eyes see an overpopulated world, especially when the water sources are considered ; because they are being polluted by fracking and are running out where people depend upon glaciers which are not being replaced by snowfall the way they used to be because of global warming which diminishes the glaciers more every year in which the overall earth’s temperature rises.