Advocate slams Trump green card rule targeting political speech

NEW YORK, CMC — A leading immigration advocate is pushing back against a fresh Trump administration directive that permits the rejection of green card applications from Caribbean nationals and others who voice opinions the federal government considers hostile to the United States.

Murad Awawdeh, president and chief executive officer of the New York Immigration Coalition, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that updated guidance from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) signals that permanent residency may be refused based on applicants' "expressed political opinions, including participating in pro-Palestinian campus protests and individuals with a history of endorsing, promoting or supporting anti-American views, including non-violent views critical of Israeli policy."

"Freedom of speech is a cornerstone of our democracy, and it must apply to everyone, no matter where they were born. Yet, Donald Trump is taking a dangerous step toward punishing immigrants for the public expression of their beliefs," Awawdeh said.

He argued the measure forms part of a wider deportation drive aimed at widening every possible channel to silence, detain and remove people whose viewpoints diverge from those of the federal administration, while stripping them of their rights.

"The Trump administration's new policy effectively censors individuals and sets a dangerous precedent that threatens the rights of all Americans," he said. "We must stand firm in defending our constitutional values by protecting the right to free speech for everyone and advancing policies that create real, fair pathways to citizenship, ensuring that our immigration system reflects our values of freedom, dignity, and justice."

Historically, immigrants who complied with American rules and avoided trouble with the law had a solid prospect of receiving permanent residency. The revised DHS instructions, however, mean a green card can now be withheld from applicants whose political stances clash with the administration or who deface the American flag.

"There is no room in America for aliens who espouse anti-American ideologies or support terrorist organisations," DHS Director Joseph Edlow told the US Congress.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which sits under DHS, said its policy manual is being amended to spell out the considerations officers weigh when discretion is required in certain applications. These include applicants' previous parole requests, any links to anti-American or terrorist groups, and how discretion should be applied where evidence of antisemitic conduct surfaces.

USCIS also disclosed that it is broadening the categories of applications subjected to social media vetting, with screening for anti-American activity now folded into that process. The agency stated that "anti-American activity will be an overwhelmingly negative factor in any discretionary analysis."

"America's benefits should not be given to those who despise the country and promote anti-American ideologies," USCIS spokesman Matthew Tragesser said. "US Citizenship and Immigration Services is committed to implementing policies and procedures that root out anti-Americanism and supporting the enforcement of rigorous screening and vetting measures to the fullest extent possible. Immigration benefits, including to live and work in the United States, remain a privilege, not a right."

Amanda Baran, who served as a senior DHS official under former President Joe Biden, countered that grounding green card rulings on "ideological screenings is fundamentally un-American and should have no place in a country built on the promise of free expression."