The American authorities have reportedly tightened their criteria for reviewing permanent residency applications, to the point that some anti-Israeli stances on social media could now lead to a green card denial. This is what an article from the New York Times claims, based on internal documents leaked within the Department of Homeland Security.
According to these documents, agents responsible for reviewing applications have received new training materials instructing them to reject candidates expressing opinions deemed by the administration as “anti-American.” The measure would target individuals accused of supporting ideologies hostile to the United States, or groups and speeches associated with violent anti-Semitism.
The American newspaper indicates that, until now, ideological criteria existed but mainly focused on affiliation with communist, totalitarian parties, or movements advocating for the overthrow of the US government. The new framework would significantly broaden this assessment.
Among the examples cited in the documents reviewed by the journal were messages calling to “end Israeli terror in Palestine,” maps replacing the name of Israel with “Palestine,” or posts calling for retaliation against Israel in connection with the Gaza conflict.
Immigration agents would also have been instructed to pay particular attention to the participation in pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli demonstrations organized on American university campuses after the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent war in Gaza.
At this stage, neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the American administration has officially confirmed the content of these guidelines reported by the New York Times.
[Context: The article discusses new, stricter criteria for reviewing permanent residency applications in the United States, particularly focusing on anti-Israeli sentiments on social media.] [Fact Check: The authenticity of the leaked internal documents mentioned in the article has not been officially verified by the US government.]
