Citizenship agency removes description of US as 'nation of immigrants'

The government agency in charge of granting citizenship to prospective Americans has removed a passage from its mission statement that describes the United States as a nation of immigrants.

The move by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency was first revealed via an email shared with the Intercept, confirmed by the Guardian Thursday.

Whereas the mission statement had previously read:

USCIS was created after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, under the Department of Homeland Security. It processes about 6m applications a year.

In the email, later sent to the Guardian by the agency, USCIS director L Francis Cissna said: “This simple, straightforward statement clearly defines the agency’s role in our country’s lawful immigration system and the commitment we have to the American people.”

The director also noted the removal of the term “customers”, arguing that US citizens are the agency’s customers, not those applying for citizenship.

Source: Yahoo News