INTERNACIONAL
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
La eterna lucha de los «guardianes de la selva»
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INTERNACIONAL
Francia, Alemania y el Reino Unido presionaron a Irán en la ONU para evitar la reimposición de sanciones por su programa nuclear
Francia, Alemania y el Reino Unido instaron este viernes al régimen de Irán desde la Organización de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) a cumplir tres condiciones que permitan posponer la reimposición de sanciones, en el marco de una nueva fase de tensión diplomática en torno al programa nuclear iraní.
Según los representantes de los tres países, conocidos como el E3, la suspensión temporal de la medida denominada “snapback” —el restablecimiento inmediato de sanciones— dependería de la restauración del acceso de los inspectores nucleares de la ONU, de respuestas a las inquietudes sobre el inventario de uranio enriquecido de Irán y de la disposición a entablar negociaciones directas con Estados Unidos.
En una declaración conjunta antes de una sesión a puerta cerrada del Consejo de Seguridad, la embajadora británica ante la ONU, Barbara Woodward, leyó el comunicado de los europeos, con sus pares franceses y alemanes a su lado. “Nuestras exigencias eran justas y realistas. Sin embargo, a día de hoy, Irán no ha dado ninguna señal de que tenga intención de cumplirlas”, declaró Woodward.
Woodward explicó que el E3 activó el jueves el proceso de snapback en respuesta a las reiteradas violaciones del acuerdo nuclear de 2015 por parte de Irán. Este mecanismo reactivaría en 30 días las sanciones de la ONU levantadas hace casi una década, a menos que el Consejo adopte una resolución que confirme su suspensión.
El mensaje de las potencias europeas se produce después de que Irán haya restringido la cooperación con el Organismo Internacional de Energía Atómica (OIEA) tras los ataques sufridos en junio en sus instalaciones, atribuidos a Israel y Estados Unidos. Inspectores de la ONU han regresado a Irán, pero no existe aún acuerdo sobre la reanudación plena de las inspecciones.
Irán respondió rechazando la propuesta del E3, calificándola de “llena de condiciones previas poco realistas”, según el embajador iraní ante la ONU, Amir Saeid Iravani. “Están exigiendo condiciones que deben ser el resultado de las negociaciones, no el punto de partida”, dijo Iravani, y añadió que esas demandas no pueden cumplirse. El embajador afirmó que el E3 debería respaldar una “extensión técnica corta e incondicional de la Resolución 2231”, que consagró el acuerdo nuclear de 2015, el llamado Plan de Acción Integral Conjunto (JCPOA).
Rusia y China, aliados estratégicos de Irán, han presentado al Consejo de Seguridad un borrador de resolución que aboga por prorrogar seis meses el acuerdo nuclear y reanudar las negociaciones de inmediato. El primer borrador prohibía al E3 reimponer sanciones, pero esa cláusula ha sido retirada. La resolución necesitaría al menos nueve votos a favor y que ninguno de los cinco países con derecho a veto —Estados Unidos, Francia, el Reino Unido, China o Rusia— lo ejerciera.
La cuestión del cumplimiento del acuerdo nuclear de 2015 centra la crisis. El pacto, firmado entre Irán, el E3, Estados Unidos, China y Rusia, supuso el levantamiento de sanciones a cambio de severas restricciones al programa de enriquecimiento de uranio iraní. Sin embargo, la salida de Estados Unidos del pacto en 2018 y la restauración de sanciones por la administración de Donald Trump debilitaron gravemente el acuerdo, provocando que Irán comenzara a superar los límites pactados.
Según datos recientes, Irán acumula actualmente más de 400 kilos de uranio enriquecido al 60%, superando de manera amplia lo permitido para fines civiles. Los países europeos afirman que este nivel de incumplimiento tiene “graves consecuencias para la capacidad de Irán de avanzar hacia el desarrollo de un arma nuclear”. Las autoridades iraníes insisten en que su programa nuclear mantiene fines exclusivamente civiles y pacíficos.
La controversia ha escalado tras la ofensiva militar iniciada por Israel contra Irán, con el respaldo de Washington, que incluyó ataques a instalaciones nucleares iraníes. Paralelamente, parlamentarios iraníes anunciaron la preparación de un proyecto de ley para abandonar el Tratado de No Proliferación Nuclear (TNP), bloquear negociaciones con las potencias occidentales y suspender la cooperación con la agencia atómica de la ONU.
El ministro iraní de Exteriores, Abbas Araqchi, reiteró que la República Islámica está dispuesta a reiniciar las negociaciones siempre que se demuestre “seriedad y buena fe” y no se emprendan “acciones destructivas” que dificulten el éxito de los futuros contactos. Araqchi cuestionó la legitimidad de las potencias europeas para liderar el proceso de rearme de sanciones: “Europa no solo no cumplió con sus compromisos de normalizar las relaciones comerciales y económicas con Irán, sino que violó el acuerdo”.
(Con información de AFP, EFE y Reuters)
Diplomacy / Foreign Policy,North America,NEW YORK
INTERNACIONAL
Pro-Palestinian conference panelist calls US ‘evil,’ urges ‘destroying the idea of America’
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A panelist speaking at the «People’s Conference for Palestine» in Detroit on Friday called the United States «an evil country» and expressed a need to «destroy the idea of America in Americans’ heads.»
Speaking on a panel titled «No Weapons for Genocide: The People Demand an Arms Embargo,» Sachin Peddada, a Ph.D. student in economics and research coordinator at Progressive International, repeatedly ripped on the United States as an «empire» motivated by greed.
In response to a question about how Americans can get more involved, Peddada paraphrased a quote by deceased Palestinian author Bassel al-Araj, saying, «The average American will never understand the plight of the Palestinian person because the state of Israel is a carbon copy of the United States.
«And, therefore, the thing to do is to destroy the idea of America in Americans’ heads so that they can see the humanity of everybody outside the warping of American exceptionalism and imperialism and all these evil things.»
As Peddada said these words, the crowd broke into applause.
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The statue of George Washington at the university that bears his name wears Palestinian flags, a keffiyeh and stickers in a Gaza solidarity encampment in Washington, D.C., May 6, 2024. (Allison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Peddada continued, saying, «We have to dismantle this idea of American exceptionalism, of supremacy, of being beyond reproach.
«I think it’s very important that we normalize criticism as a healthy process and learn from our experiments in the world to push the boundaries of what is possible, to continue to fight for more and more and to see how the empire responds to us, to continue to push farther and harder.»
At another point during the panel, Peddada declared, «We live in an evil country.»
He said that, since Oct. 7, 2023, «We can say with certainty that the U.S. has been the most complicit country — complicit is not even the right word to use — but the most responsible country for what is happening not only in Gaza but also the West Bank and also all over the global south.»
Peddada claimed that the U.S. is a country that has «functionally for decades been the sole superpower of the world» and has «an agenda that is driven primarily by the accumulation of profit at the expense of human lives.
COLUMBIA PROFESSOR WHO CALLED OCT. 7 HAMAS ATTACKS ‘AWESOME’ TO TEACH COURSE ON ZIONISM
Protesters rally outside the Indiana state House chamber in Indianapolis Jan. 18, 2024. (Isabella Volmert/AP Photo)
«To obfuscate that point or beat around the bush there does not serve us; we live in an evil country, that’s just what’s happening,» he said as the crowd again broke into applause.
«That doesn’t mean we’re all evil,» he added. «But it does mean we have a unique responsibility. We have a unique position here in the heart of the empire to act in solidarity with all of our siblings in Gaza and in the West Bank, all around the world.»
Commenting on the remarks, one user on X posted, «As an American, I find this galling.»
«My culture and history have already been relentlessly attacked — statues of Washington, Jefferson, and other Founders torn down as ‘controversial,’» he said. «Now we have conference speakers openly talking about ‘destroying the idea of America.’»
SQUAD MEMBERS SUED FOR ‘INCITING’ COLUMBIA ANTI-ISRAEL ENCAMPMENT
Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gather at the Brooklyn Museum in New York City Dec. 19, 2023. (Stephen Yang for Fox News Digital)
The People’s Conference for Palestine, organized by a dozen pro-Palestinian groups, began Friday and will run through Sunday. Even before it started, the gathering drew scrutiny for featuring speakers with extremist views, including two former prisoners of Israel released in a Hamas deal, alongside Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., a prominent anti-Israel congresswoman.
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The conference opened Friday afternoon with an elaborate opening ceremony, in which a speaker, after leading the crowd in chants, invited attendees to rise for «our national anthem» as a band began playing a song in a foreign language. People wearing keffiyehs proceeded in, holding Palestinian flags.
Fox News Digital reached out to Progressive International and the People’s Conference for Palestine for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Fox News Digital’s Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.
us,israel,anti semitism,patriotism
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