(Fixes typo in headline)
By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump’s administration has said it will assess applicants for U.S. work, study and immigration visas for “anti-Americanism” and count any such finding against them, sparking concern about implications for free speech.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said in a “policy alert” dated Tuesday that it gave immigration officers new guidance on how to exercise discretion in cases where foreign applicants “support or promote anti-American ideologies or activities” as well as “antisemitic terrorism.”
Trump has labeled a range of voices as anti-American, including historians and museums documenting U.S. slavery and pro-Palestinian protesters opposing U.S. ally Israel’s military assault on Gaza.
“Anti-American activity will be an overwhelmingly negative factor in any discretionary analysis,” USCIS said.
“America’s benefits should not be given to those who despise the country and promote anti-American ideologies.”
The announcement did not define anti-Americanism. But the policy manual refers to a section of federal law about prohibiting naturalization of people “opposed to government or law, or who favor totalitarian forms of government.”
The full text mentions supporters of communism or totalitarian regimes and people who advocate overthrow of the U.S. government and violence against government officers, among other factors.
USCIS said it expanded the types of applications that have social media vetting, and reviews for “anti-American activity” will be added to that vetting.
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, said the step hearkened to the 1950s when Senator Joseph McCarthy hunted alleged communists in a campaign that became synonymous with political persecution.
“McCarthyism returns to immigration law,” he said. Anti-Americanism “has no prior precedent in immigration law and its definition is entirely up to the Trump admin.”
In April, the U.S. government said it would begin screening the social media of immigrants and visa applicants for what it called antisemitic activity. Rights advocates raised free speech and surveillance concerns.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
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