Welcome to America — Now Spy on Your Friends
BuzzFeed has a troubling story about Muslim immigrants who seek to naturalize and become U.S. citizens. When Muslim immigrants apply to become citizens, they often find the process delayed for years without explanation. Many ultimately are visited by the FBI and asked to spy on fellow Muslims. It describes one case:
“An immigrant from Pakistan, he had spent the last seven years trying to get a green card, a process that had so far included a series of interviews, three encounters with the FBI, and unexplained bureaucratic delays. Maybe this meeting would bring some resolution?
But when the 37-year-old software programmer arrived at the Homeland Security offices in Dallas that day in August 2014, the conversation quickly swerved. One of the two agents placed a piece of paper on the table and told him to write down the names of all the people he knew who he thought were terrorists.”
For immigrants pressured to become government informants, the process might begin with the Controlled Application Review and Resolution Program (CARRP). The program, overseen by immigration authorities, is designed to identify security risks among those who apply for visas, asylum, green cards, and naturalization. In November, BuzzFeed News revealed that the program is being used to vet refugees seeking asylum from Syria.
KJ