U.S. immigration officials have issued a call for feedback from the public and federal agencies regarding a proposal to gather social media account information from individuals applying for benefits like green cards or citizenship. This initiative is in response to an executive order from President Donald Trump.
The notice, released on March 5, has raised concerns among immigration and free speech advocates as it seems to broaden the scope of social media surveillance to include individuals who have already been vetted and are legally residing in the U.S., such as asylum seekers, green card holders, and citizenship applicants, as opposed to just those seeking entry into the country. However, the monitoring of social media by immigration authorities has been a longstanding practice, dating back to at least the second term of the Obama administration and intensified during Trump’s presidency.
Here are some key points about the new proposal and its potential implications for social media monitoring:
What is the proposal?
The Department of Homeland Security has issued a 60-day notice seeking public input on its plan to comply with President Trump’s executive order titled “Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats.” The plan aims to establish uniform vetting standards for screening individuals for inadmissibility to the U.S., as well as verifying identities and conducting national security screenings. It includes a requirement for individuals to disclose their social media handles when applying for U.S. citizenship, green cards, asylum, and other immigration benefits. The public can submit feedback on the proposal until May 5.
What is changing?
Currently, individuals applying for immigrant and non-immigrant visas are required to provide their social media account details. The new policy would expand this requirement to include all individuals applying for any immigration benefit, even those who have already undergone extensive vetting processes. This expanded use of social media information is part of the administration’s efforts to make critical decisions about individuals based on their online activities.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services emphasized that the proposed policy aims to enhance fraud detection, prevent identity theft, and support robust screening and vetting procedures to safeguard public safety and national security. It is estimated that approximately 3.6 million people will be affected by this policy change.
The use of social media for immigration vetting by the U.S. government has been on the rise since 2014 during the administration of former President Barack Obama, as reported by the Brennan Center for Justice. Initially, the Department of Homeland Security began manually and automatically screening the social media accounts of a limited number of individuals applying to travel to the United States through non-public pilot programs. In response, in May 2017, the U.S. Department of State issued an emergency notice to enhance the screening of visa applicants, a move opposed by civil and human rights groups like Brennan, citing concerns about the burdensome nature, vagueness, potential chilling of speech, discrimination against Muslims, and lack of security benefits.
Subsequently, the State Department extended the collection of social media handles to nearly all foreigners applying for U.S. visas, amounting to around 15 million individuals annually. As for the use of AI tools in this process, while they have advanced over the years, experts caution that these tools have limitations and can make errors. Leon Rodriguez, USCIS director from 2014 to 2017 and current immigration attorney, emphasized that AI could serve as an initial screening tool but may not replicate the judgment of trained professionals in fraud detection and national security.
One major concern highlighted by experts is the complexity of social media content, comprising a mix of reliable and unreliable information that can be challenging to interpret accurately. Additionally, there are First Amendment implications to consider, as individuals in the U.S., including non-citizens, are protected by free speech rights. While the government has authority to take actions like revoking visas, restrictions based on speech protected by the First Amendment are generally limited, with exceptions existing in certain cases.
