The Trump administration announced on Friday new guidance for green card hopefuls in the United States that mandates they must return to their home country before seeking permanent lawful status.The Department of Homeland Security claimed the current policy, which allows immigrants in the country on temporary visas to apply for permanent legal status from within the U.S., is a “loophole” that opens the system up for abuse. Under the policy change, those in the U.S. temporarily and who decide to apply for green cards must now first leave the country, “except in extraordinary circumstances,” according to DHS. “An alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply,” DHS said in a statement. “This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes. The era of abusing our nation’s immigration system is over.”
The development comes amid the Trump administration’s effort to reduce immigration levels, including by deporting illegal immigrants. White House border czar Tom Homan said earlier this week that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and federal partners have arrested 641,000 illegal immigrants since President Donald Trump took office, while 800,000 have been removed from the U.S. The Justice Department’s move to swear in a record number of new immigration judges has compounded efforts to move cases through the courts swiftly and accelerate the final removal of illegal immigrants.
