DHS Eases Screening of Spouses and Children of Refugees to Save Time

Biden’s Department of Homeland Security has ditched another Trump-era security policy dedicated to screening new refugees who hope to move to the United States. The measure abandoned by the Biden Administration mandated interviews for spouses and children of refugees who want to immigrate to the U.S.

The Administration said that the interview requirement for spouses and children was too much of a time burden compared to the possible benefit of the process. Additionally, DHS said the requirement “was ‘inconsistent’ with President Biden’s executive orders calling for a more inclusive immigration system,” reports The Washington Times.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said that the agency could still perform the interviews on a case by case basis but added only when “there was a need to do so.” The agency stated:

imposed significant burdens on refugee and asylee populations, as well as operational challenges on USCIS and the Department of State, without evident benefits to justify these burdens… USCIS can perform robust fraud and security screenings and maintain strong program integrity without this blanket interview policy.

According to The Washington Times, the new rule change will apply to refugees and asylees. While the actual refugee or asylee will still be interviewed, spouses and children under the age of 21 will no longer be required to have an interview.

Robert Law, who serves as Director of Regulatory Affairs and Policy for the Center for Immigration Studies, stated about the policy:

This was something that was completely driven by the need to properly screen and vet people and ensure there was no relationship fraud or national security concerns. By waiving these interviews, it is not going to do anything to reduce backlogs, and it certainly doesn’t do anything to bring integrity to adjudications.

For more on this story, please visit The Washington Times.