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Trump admin resurrects ‘neighborhood checks’ for citizenship applicants last used in first Bush-era
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The Trump administration is restoring an immigration policy that was last used under former President George H.W. Bush’s tenure to conduct neighborhood investigations related to immigrants applying for U.S. naturalization, according to a policy memo released Tuesday by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
«U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is resuming personal investigations of aliens applying for naturalization in accordance with section 335(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act,» the memo, dated Aug. 22 but released publicly Tuesday, reads.
The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act abolished immigration quotas and championed welcoming «those who can contribute most to this country — to its growth, to its strength, to its spirit,» according to President Lyndon B. Johnson’s remarks at the time of him signing the act into law.
The administration’s revitalization of personal investigations, also called «neighborhood checks,» will include U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services requesting information from immigrants seeking naturalization, such as «testimonial letters from neighbors, employers, co-workers, and business associates who know the alien and can provide substantiated information about the alien, including any of the requirements for naturalization.»
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is an office under the Department of Homeland Security‘s umbrella that oversees the nation’s legal immigration processing.
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO VET LEGAL IMMIGRANT APPLICANTS FOR ‘ANTI-AMERICANISM’ AND ANTISEMITISM
The Trump administration is restoring an immigration policy to conduct neighborhood investigations related to aliens applying for U.S. naturalization. (Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images)
The memorandum stated that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services «generally waives the requirements for neighborhood investigations» under the 1965 law, and historically had relied instead on FBI background checks to determine an «applicant’s good moral character and eligibility for naturalization.»
The personal investigations will now include interviewing a naturalization applicant’s neighbors and their employment history stretching back at least a five-year period before an individual applied for naturalization, according to the memo. The checks are to ensure «scrutiny of an alien’s residency, good moral character, attachment to the U.S. Constitution, and disposition to the good order and happiness of the United States.»
TRUMP ADMIN TO WEIGH US CITIZENSHIP APPLICANTS’ ‘POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS,’ GOOD MORAL CHARACTER
Such investigations were last conducted in 1991 under the first Bush’s tenure, according to the memo. Similar investigations were carried out on immigrants applying for naturalization as far back as 1802, the memo added.
President Donald Trump’s administration has been on a crackdown on illegal immigration since his first day back in office in January. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press)
«From 1802 to 1981, petitioners for naturalization were required to present two witnesses who could testify to their qualifications for citizenship,» the memo stated. «In 1981, Congress eliminated the requirement for witnesses, a change justified in part by the fact that a petitioner’s character could be better determined by an investigation, including a neighborhood investigation, if necessary.»
«However, by 1991, the former Immigration and Naturalization Service had essentially stopped conducting neighborhood investigations,» the memo stated.
TOP DHS OFFICIAL CALLS CITIZENSHIP TEST ‘TOO SOFT,’ URGES MAJOR OVERHAUL OF NATURALIZATION PROCESS
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services celebrated the return of the personal investigations.
Joseph Edlow, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in comment provided to Fox News Digital Wednesday that the office «is working to ensure that only the most qualified applicants receive American citizenship.»
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is an office under the Department of Homeland Security’s umbrella that oversees the nation’s legal immigration processing. (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)
«The Immigration and Nationality Act directs USCIS to conduct personal investigations and incorporating neighborhood investigations will help enhance these statutorily required investigations to ensure that we are meeting congressional intent,» he continued. «Americans should be comforted knowing that USCIS is taking seriously its responsibility to ensure aliens are being properly vetted and are of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States.»
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The move is the latest for the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration that spiraled under the Biden administration.
Democrats increasingly have spoken out against the Trump administration’s immigration policies, slamming its mass deportation efforts while ramping up visits to detention centers to draw attention to the facilities, the Associated Press reported.
«Transparency matters. Oversight matters. Accountability matters,» Colorado Democrat Rep. Joe Neguse said in August after visiting a Colorado detention center. «You certainly can expect to see the Democratic members of Colorado’s House delegation continue to lean in on all fronts.»
immigration,donald trump,illegal immigrants,homeland security
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Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., announced on Thursday his plan to deploy California Highway Patrol «crime-suppression teams» across the Golden State to prevent crime and promote public safety.
«While the Trump administration undermines cities, California is partnering with them and delivering real results. With these new deployments, we’re doubling down on these partnerships to build on progress and keep driving crime down,» Newsom said in a statement.
The officers will partner with local law enforcement officers in major cities, including Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Inland Empire, Central Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area, according to Newsom’s office.
The White House was quick to mock Newsom’s crime rollout, telling Fox News Digital in a statement on Friday, »After Newscum spent weeks criticizing the president’s highly successful efforts to crack down on crime, he’s reverted to his tried-and-true strategy: embracing and copying the Trump agenda.»
SCHIFF BLASTS ‘TINPOT DICTATOR’ TRUMP’S NATIONAL GUARD MOBILIZATION, WARNS OTHER CITIES ARE NEXT
Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks in Los Angeles on March 26, 2025. (Frazer Harrison/WireImage)
Despite the copycat accusation, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson acknowledged that «the more Democrats follow the president’s lead to crack down on crime, the better it is for the American people!»
«Stopping crime should not be a partisan exercise, but Democrats like Newscum have tried to make it one,» she added. «President Trump’s partnership with DC MPD has resulted in record drops in crime and countless dangerous criminals being removed from DC’s streets.»
NEWSOM SAYS IT’S TIME FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP TO ‘GROW UP’ IN REBUKE OVER NATIONAL GUARD DEPLOYMENT
During a news conference on Thursday, Newsom criticized President Donald Trump for «militarizing American cities» amid the president’s crackdown on crime in Washington, D.C. His announcement followed remarks at POLITICO’s California Summit on Wednesday, where Newsom ridiculed the president’s «authoritarian tendencies.»
Newsom also blasted the president for federalizing the National Guard in California without his request earlier this summer. Trump has since followed suit in Washington, D.C., and floated similar action in Baltimore and Chicago to fight crime.
When Trump announced he was deploying the National Guard to the nation’s capital earlier this month, he singled out Los Angeles and Oakland as «very bad» on crime and later said San Francisco had been «destroyed» by Democratic leadership.
President Donald Trump visits the U.S. Park Police Anacostia Operations Facility on Aug. 21, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
«Today’s announcement builds on successful CHP efforts already underway in Oakland, Bakersfield and San Bernardino. CHP officers assigned to crime-suppression teams will saturate high-crime areas, target repeat offenders and seize illicit weapons and narcotics,» Newsom’s office said in a statement released Thursday.
According to the governor’s office, in Bakersfield, San Bernardino and Oakland, where crime-suppression teams have already been deployed, officials made over 9,000 arrests, recovered almost 5,800 stolen vehicles and confiscated more than 400 firearms last year.
«By combining resources, intelligence and personnel, we can better disrupt criminal activity and strengthen the safety and security of communities across California,» CHP Commissioner Sean Duryee said.
During Thursday’s press conference, Newsom continued criticizing the Trump administration.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., attends a press conference on July 2, 2025, in Burbank, Calif. (Carlin Stiehl/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Citing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 2023, Newsom said if Trump was serious about fighting crime in the United States, then he should send troops to Louisiana and Mississippi. Both red states have homicide rates nearly four times higher than California.
Newsom’s office also highlighted California’s $1.7 billion investment in fighting crime since 2019, touting that homicide, robbery and property crime rates have dropped in line with or below pre-pandemic levels, according to Major Cities Chiefs Association data.
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The California governor made his announcement as some blue states and cities brace for the possible deployment of National Guard troops to fight crime in their communities.
gavin newsom,donald trump,california,national guard,crime world,politics
En 1946, Winston Churchill anunció que una “Cortina de Hierro” había caído sobre Europa “desde Stettin, en el Báltico, hasta Trieste, en el Adriático”. Esta vez es Occidente quien está construyendo las barreras.
Todas las naciones europeas que limitan con Rusia y su aliada Bielorrusia están acelerando sus planes para construir cientos de kilómetros de fronteras fortificadas con el fin de defenderse de una posible agresión rusa.
Las razones son claras. El marco de seguridad europeo posterior a la Guerra Fría, que se basaba en el fortalecimiento de las instituciones internacionales y el comercio, la expansión de la OTAN y las garantías militares de Estados Unidos, se está erosionando.
Finlandia, que comparte una frontera de 832 millas (1338 kilómetros) con Rusia, propuso en 2023 la construcción de un muro que cubriría aproximadamente el 15% de su frontera, con un coste superior a 400 millones de dólares (297 millones de libras esterlinas) y con la esperanza de que esté terminado en 2026.
Esta iniciativa está motivada en parte por la invasión de Ucrania por parte de Rusia en 2022, pero también por el aumento del número de rusos que huyen a Finlandia para escapar del servicio militar obligatorio. El Gobierno finlandés aprobó una ley en julio de 2023 para construir vallas más resistentes y altas, ya que las anteriores, de madera, estaban diseñadas únicamente para impedir el paso del ganado. Se erigieron ocho puestos fronterizos (incluido uno al norte del círculo polar ártico) junto con obstáculos más grandes en la franja más meridional del país.
Incluso se están erigiendo defensas en zonas remotas del noreste de Finlandia, donde en un pasado no muy lejano un flujo constante de rusos y finlandeses cruzaba regularmente la frontera para comprar alimentos.
Y Finlandia no es la primera. En agosto de 2015, Estonia anunció que construiría una valla a lo largo de su frontera oriental con Rusia, tras la anexión de Crimea por parte de Moscú en 2014.
En 2024, los países bálticos y Polonia propusieron fortificar aún más sus fronteras con un muro defensivo. Tendría una longitud de 700 kilómetros y costaría más de 2000 millones de libras esterlinas. Los planes y la construcción se están acelerando ahora, ya que los líderes de los países bálticos temen que las perspectivas de un alto el fuego entre Ucrania y Rusia puedan significar que Moscú redirija su ejército hacia ellos.
Letonia invertirá unos 350 millones de dólares en los próximos años para reforzar su frontera de 386 kilómetros con Rusia, mientras que Lituania está planeando una línea de defensa de 48 kilómetros contra una posible invasión rusa. Polonia ha comenzado a construir una valla permanente en su frontera con Bielorrusia como parte de su defensa contra los posibles aliados de Moscú.
Estas murallas irán acompañadas de otras barreras físicas, como zanjas antitanques, dientes de dragón de hormigón de 15 toneladas (que pueden detener el avance de los tanques rusos), enormes bloques y pirámides de hormigón, barricadas, enormes puertas metálicas, campos minados y cabezas de puente bloqueadas.
Lituania tiene previsto construir hasta 30 millas (48 kilómetros) de zanjas de recuperación, puentes preparados para bombardeos y árboles destinados a caer sobre las carreteras cuando sea necesario.
Los países bálticos también están construyendo más de 1000 búnkeres, depósitos de municiones y refugios de suministros para proteger aún más las 600 millas de territorio que limitan con Rusia. Se espera que los búnkeres tengan unos 35 metros cuadrados, puedan albergar hasta diez soldados y sean capaces de resistir los ataques de artillería de Rusia.
Los países bálticos, además de Finlandia y Polonia, también anunciaron en 2025 que se retirarían del tratado internacional de 1997 que prohíbe las minas terrestres antipersonales, mientras que Lituania revocó su compromiso con un tratado sobre bombas de racimo. Polonia anunció en junio de 2025 que había añadido campos de minas a sus planes fronterizos “Escudo del Este”.
Estas defensas fronterizas utilizarán la última tecnología, sistemas de alerta temprana y unidades de artillería. Lituania, Letonia, Estonia, Polonia, Finlandia y Noruega se reunieron en Riga en 2024 para comenzar a planificar la construcción de un “muro de drones” de 1850 millas (2977 kilómetros) para proteger sus fronteras.
Este muro de drones contará con una red de sensores, compuesta por radares y herramientas de guerra electrónica para identificar y destruir los drones rusos. En cuestión de segundos tras detectar un objetivo que cruza la frontera, se activaría un sistema de reconocimiento cercano de drones.
Este proyecto requerirá una gran cooperación entre los Estados participantes. Las empresas estonias ya están diseñando drones que pueden detectar y neutralizar amenazas en terrenos complejos, como lagos, pantanos y bosques, que cubren la frontera de Rusia con los países bálticos.
Tanto la cooperación de todos los países que limitan con Rusia en Europa como el conocimiento del terreno son fundamentales para evitar los fracasos de la Línea Maginot, parte de un conjunto de barreras defensivas que Francia construyó a lo largo de sus fronteras en la década de 1930 y que no lograron impedir la invasión alemana en la Segunda Guerra Mundial. En ese caso, se asumió que los alemanes no podrían atravesar el bosque de las Ardenas en Bélgica.
Aunque las fortificaciones de la Línea Maginot hicieron que los alemanes se replantearan su plan de ataque, Bélgica quedó vulnerable. Hoy en día, las naciones europeas son conscientes de que no pueden impedir por completo un ataque ruso, pero sí pueden, posiblemente, influir en la naturaleza de una invasión rusa. El objetivo de estas barreras es tanto disuadir como intentar controlar la ubicación de cualquier invasión.
Si se anuncia un alto el fuego entre Ucrania y Rusia, los líderes de las naciones bálticas temen que el Kremlin pueda volver a desplegar tropas en sus fronteras.
Los países vecinos de Rusia están tratando de estar lo más preparados posible para cualquier cosa que Vladimir Putin pueda hacer a continuación.
Defense,Europe,NUIJAMAA
INTERNACIONAL
Witkoff meets Ukraine officials in New York ahead of emergency UN Security Council meeting: ‘Very productive’
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EXCLUSIVE: White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff met with Ukrainian officials in New York City Friday for «very productive and constructive» talks ahead of Kyiv’s emergency U.N. Security Council meeting, Fox News Digital has learned.
Witkoff met with Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s office of the president and chief of staff, and Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine’s ambassador extraordinary.
RUSSIAN ATTACK KILLS 17, INJURES 48 OTHERS IN KYIV, UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS SAY
Senior administration officials familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital that Yermak and Kyslytsya gave Witkoff a status update on the war with Russia and Moscow’s most recent attacks.
Russia launched a large-scale attack on Kyiv Wednesday night, killing at least 17 people, wounding 48 others and damaging buildings, officials in Ukraine said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, meets with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, right, at Kremlin Palace in Moscow Aug. 6, 2025. (Kremlin Press Office/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Ukrainian officials invited Witkoff to visit Ukraine in the future, a senior official told Fox News Digital.
Witkoff is continuing talks with Ukrainian officials, who say they are making progress.
The meeting, according to Trump administration officials, was a status update and a reaffirmation of the goal of getting both Ukraine and Russia to meet to ultimately reach an agreement to end the war.
Witkoff’s diplomatic approach in the highly sensitive talks has been met with praise by Trump Cabinet officials and foreign officials alike.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also touted Witkoff’s work, saying he is «a key member of President Trump’s team and plays an indispensable role in advancing the president’s priorities.»
Rubio told Fox News Digital that Witkoff’s «unique perspective and innovative approach open new opportunities for diplomacy that were previously unavailable.»
«It’s been remarkable to see him in action and a privilege to call him a colleague,» Rubio told Fox News Digital.
National Security Advisor to the United Kingdom Jonathan Powell also praised Witkoff’s style.
Powell reflected on his more than 30 years of experience in peace negotiations, telling Fox News Digital that «there is a lot of snobbery in diplomacy — that peace can only be made in grand chandelier rooms, with a delegation of tens of officials and decades of diplomatic experience.»
«But in my experience, the people who are actually successful at making peace operate on their own and concentrate on building trust between key leaders on either side and moving quietly to cut a deal,» Powell said. «Steve Witkoff is exactly that sort of person.»
Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, during an executive order signing ceremony in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington Feb. 3, 2025. (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Powell told Fox News Digital that Witkoff’s experience of «making deals in a completely different field,» along with his «charm and optimism, unburdened by the tens of reasons why an initiative cannot work, and a steely focus on getting to a lasting agreement.
«In the court of this year, Steve has been able to open doors that no one else could and make peace possible in a series of different conflicts which would otherwise have remained insoluble.»
And Jared Kushner, a former senior adviser to Trump during his first administration, told Fox News Digital that the Trump administration’s «small, focused teams with the right leadership can achieve great results.»
Secretary of State Marco Rubio also touted Steve Witkoff’s work, saying he is «a key member of President Trump’s team and plays an indispensable role in advancing the president’s priorities.» (Mark Schiefelbein/The Associated Press)
«Coming from the deal world, managing several complex deals at the same time is not uncommon,» Kushner said, touting Witkoff’s «commitment, creativity and determination to solve some of the world’s most complex problems.»
«Steve is quick to seek out advice and expertise when he is assessing a situation and evolves his perspectives as the facts change,» Kushner said.
Reports this week, however, quoted anonymous sources who said Witkoff didn’t have enough experience to handle the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Vice President JD Vance, though, told Fox News Digital that Witkoff has «made more progress toward ending the bloodshed in Ukraine than all his critics combined.»
«He’s a natural diplomat, an experienced negotiator and a true humanitarian,» Vance said.
Vance blasted those who have criticized Witkoff for simply being «threatened.»
RUSSIA LAUNCHES LARGEST ATTACK ON UKRAINE THIS MONTH FOLLOWING TRUMP’S MEETINGS WITH PUTIN, ZELENSKYY
«These smears are coming from lifelong bureaucrats who are threatened by Steve’s success and who are basically opposed to a productive peace process,» Vance said.
Meanwhile, Witkoff’s meeting with officials in New York City comes just hours after Ukraine requested an emergency open briefing at the U.N. Security Council following Russia’s overnight aerial attacks on Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine.
Council members Denmark, France, Greece, the Republic of Korea, Slovenia and the United Kingdom supported the meeting request.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, meets with President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., Aug. 19, 2025. (Ukrainian Presidency/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Reports say Russia used nearly 600 drones and more than 30 ballistic and cruise missiles in the attack this week.
Russia’s continued attacks come after Trump met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska earlier in August. Putin proposed Ukraine cede some territory in exchange for peace.
Days later, Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and several European heads of state at the White House, and he urged Ukraine to accept a land swap deal with Russia. Trump has argued that it is the most efficient way to end the war.
Trump hosted Zelenskyy along with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Finnish President Alexander Stubb.
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also attended the meeting at the White House.
Finnish President Alexander Stubb, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte prepare to depart after a group photo prior to meeting at the White House Aug. 18, 2025, in Washington. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Trump is coordinating the next steps in brokering an end to the war and is encouraging Putin and Zelenskyy to meet.
Trump has said that after Putin and Zelenskyy meet, he will host a «trilat,» which will be a meeting between Putin, Zelenskyy and Trump.
«After that meeting takes place, we will have a Trilat, which would be the two Presidents, plus myself,» Trump said last week. «Again, this was a very good, early step for a War that has been going on for almost four years. Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, are coordinating with Russia and Ukraine.»
But after the latest attack, Zelenskyy blasted Putin, saying Russia «chooses ballistics instead of the negotiating table. It chooses to continue killing instead of ending the war.
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«And this means that Russia still does not fear the consequences,» Zelenskyy added. «Russia still takes advantage of the fact that at least part of the world turns a blind eye to murdered children and seeks excuses for Putin.»
Zelenskyy added that it is «definitely time for new, tough sanctions against Russia for everything it is doing.
«All deadlines have already been broken, dozens of opportunities for diplomacy ruined,» he said. «Russia must feel accountable for every strike, for every day of this war. Eternal memory to all victims of Russia.»
ukraine,russia,white house,state department,marco rubio,jd vance
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