Overview
- DHS and USCIS released the president’s congratulatory letter, which new citizens will receive at naturalization ceremonies starting Wednesday.
- The message urges recipients to protect America’s heritage and to safeguard, honor, and respect the Constitution.
- DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called citizenship a sacred trust and said the department aims to ensure new citizens meet their obligations.
- Unnamed DHS sources reported heightened vetting, including reinstated neighborhood interviews and efforts to flag non-citizens who registered to vote, with USCIS said to have overhauled the citizenship test.
- Coverage places the letter within a broader enforcement push that has included ICE raids in multiple states and the authorization of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles after reported violence against law enforcement.