Agency overseeing immigration into US removes 'a nation of immigrants' from mission statement

Agency adds 'securing the homeland' to list of priorities

Immigrants wait in line to become US citizens at a naturalization ceremony at the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (John Moore/Getty Images)

The agency tasked with overseeing immigration into the US has removed the phrase “a nation of immigrants” from its mission statement.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which oversees the granting of citizenship and green cards, announced the change via an internal email.

“USCIS employees are passionate about upholding the rule of law and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system,” wrote USCIS Director L Francis Cissna in an email obtained by The Independent. "...To reflect these principles, and to guide us in the years ahead, I am pleased to share with you our agency’s new mission statement."

The new mission statement reads: “US 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 honouring our values.”

Among other things, the statement removes references to “secur[ing] America’s promise as a nation of immigrants” and adds the phrase “securing the homeland”.

The agency’s new statement also does not refer to the population it serves as “customers”. Mr Cissna explained the change in his email, saying that the agency’s work was too important to be regarded as "a mere production line", or even be described in "business or commercial terms”.

“Use of the term leads to the erroneous belief that applicants and petitioners, rather than the American people, are whom we ultimately serve,” he added. “All applicants and petitioners should, of course, always be treated with the greatest respect and courtesy, but we can’t forget that we serve the American people.”

USCIS officials said the change, first reported by The Intercept, was developed by Mr Cissna during a conference with USCIS leadership. The new statement, they said, reflects the director’s priorities of “fairness, lawfulness and efficiency, protecting American workers, and safeguarding the homeland”.

Over the years, the phrase “a nation of immigrants” has become synonymous with the United States – the motto of which is “E Pluribus Unum,” or “Out of Many, One”.

President Donald Trump has made it clear, however, that he would like to cut down on the number of immigrants entering the country, both legally and illegally. Among other things, the president has proposed ending the diversity visa lottery, reducing chain migration, and building a wall on the border with Mexico.

“We're asking Congress to support our immigration policy that keeps terrorists, drug dealers, criminals, and gang members out of our country,” Mr Trump told a roundtable of law enforcement officers recently. “We want them out. We don’t want them in.”