National Security and Vetting

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said that in President Trump’s first year back in office it referred more than 14,000 immigration cases to ICE for national security and fraud concerns, with 182 confirmed or suspected national security risks, and issued a record 196,000 Notices to Appear to place migrants in removal proceedings. The agency’s Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate completed 19,300 fraud investigations, finding fraud in roughly 65% of reviewed cases, carried out more than 6,500 site visits and 19,500 social‑media checks, and reported over 2,400 arrests at USCIS field offices as part of a broader crackdown that also froze asylum processing after a Nov. 26 D.C. Guard attack, re‑examined green cards from high‑risk nations, and made the citizenship test more difficult. USCIS also highlighted a surge in interest in enforcement jobs, saying more than 50,000 Americans applied to become "homeland defenders" responsible for adjudicating green cards, visas and citizenship applications.