Cucinelli boasts of increasing bureaucracy, reducing legal migration

In a new press release, Ken Cuccinelli, the acting director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), boasted that the Trump administration has increased red tape and bureaucracy for U.S. companies. According to Forbes, “it’s the latest example of administration officials lauding efforts to make it more difficult for employers to obtain what economists often consider to be a company’s most valuable resource – talent.”

The USCIS press release repeatedly emphasizes fidelity to President Trump and DHS policy priorities such as national security, fraud, and reduction of asylum claims at the border as evidence of its achievements, notwithstanding the USCIS’ distinct mission relating to immigration benefits.

“FY 2019 has been a historic year for USCIS and we have achieved many of President Trump’s goals to make our immigration system work better for America. As an agency, we have worked hand-in-hand with our fellow DHS components to answer President Trump’s call to address the ongoing crisis at our southern border. In the face of congressional inaction, we’ve taken significant steps to mitigate the loopholes in our asylum system, combat fraudulent claims and strengthen the protections we have in place to preserve humanitarian assistance for those truly in need of it,” said USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli. “Meanwhile, the men and women of USCIS continue to administer our nation’s lawful immigration system, processing a large number of applications and requests while naturalizing 833,000 new U.S. citizens, an 11-year high.

“In the coming year, we will continue to use every tool available to us to deliver on President Trump’s promises to the American people. We will continue to fulfill his goals to strengthen our nation’s strained immigration system and alleviate the crisis at our border while the agency continues to fairly and efficiently adjudicate the applications of those seeking lawful status in the U.S.”

MHC