HARLINGEN, Texas (Border Report) — The Trump administration has launched a new office to vet immigrants.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is opening the new vetting center in Atlanta, Georgia, officials said.
It will be a specialized unit to help screen out terrorists and criminals trying to enter the United States, the agency said in a news release.
“USCIS’ role in the nation’s immigration system has never been more critical. In the wake of several recent incidents of violence, including a foreign national attacking National Guard service members on U.S. soil, establishing this vetting center will give us more enhanced capabilities to safeguard national security and ensure public safety,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said.
“Under the Biden administration, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was pushed to expedite the immigration and naturalization processes with little regard for how that affected national security and the safety of our communities,” Edlow said. “We changed that approach on Day One of the Trump administration. Under President Trump, we are building more protective measures that ensure fraud, deception, and threats do not breach the integrity of our immigration system.”
Once operational, USCIS officers will have access to classified material and the latest technology when considering cases, including artificial intelligence, the agency says.
Trump has implemented a number of new actions lately to better screen and vet asylees and immigrants, which he says threaten America’s safety.
The American Immigration Lawyers Association on Monday held a news conference to oppose a travel ban and asylum ban on immigrants from 19 countries, which will cause additional vetting of immigrants who are already in the United States with pending asylum and immigration cases from those countries.
Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.