South Carolina— Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas has put immigration back in the national headlines with a comprehensive new proposal that pledges to change how the federal government handles migrant benefits, citizenship reviews, and enforcement capabilities.
The American Citizens First Act, which was introduced on Wednesday, is being characterized as a strong attempt to “put American citizens first.” This comes at a time when the country is already dealing with stricter rules after a tragic shooting involving an Afghan national and a series of new directives from federal agencies.
Cotton’s bill would cut off almost all federal benefits for those who aren’t citizens and give the Department of Homeland Security more power in a number of important areas. One of the more debated parts would let DHS take away citizenship from naturalized Americans who take part in unlawful protests that entail violence or property destruction.
Cotton says this legislation is meant to keep things stable at home and that industrious Americans shouldn’t have to “support non-U.S. citizens” or put up with behavior that disrupts public order.
The law also says that all Afghans who came to the US on a refugee, parole, or special immigrant visa since January 20, 2021, must be fully reviewed. This provision comes at a time when U.S. immigration policies are being examined very closely after a shooting near the White House during Thanksgiving week that killed one National Guard soldier and injured another.
The administration said that the suspect, who was from Afghanistan, was the cause for the immediate pause of decisions on green card, citizenship, and asylum applications for immigrants from 19 countries that had been highlighted in a previous travel restriction. DHS said the freeze was necessary to make sure that everyone who comes to the US meets the highest criteria, saying that “citizenship is a privilege, not a right.”
“The Trump Administration is making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best. Citizenship is a privilege, not a right,” a DHS spokesperson said in a statement.
“We will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake. The Trump Administration is reviewing all immigration benefits granted by the Biden administration to aliens from countries of concern.”
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Cotton’s plan would not only look at Afghans who have been let into the country in the past several years, but it would also give immigration authorities the power to quickly remove individuals who can’t verify they are legally in the country. It also seeks to restrict Temporary Protected Status by ordering DHS to automatically cancel TPS designations if a country is safe for return or if the number of migrants from that country exceeds a crime rate defined in the bill. Cotton says the purpose is to be fair to taxpayers, but opponents are likely to see the measures as part of a larger campaign to cut humanitarian protections significantly.
The bill comes at a time when the federal government is quickly making it harder to assess immigration cases. Last week, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it will look at green card applications from individuals from “concerned” nations again. The USCIS then took another step on Tuesday by sending out a detailed order that put reviews on hold for individuals from six countries in a number of visa categories. The State Department also stopped issuing visas to Afghans who helped the U.S. military effort. At the same time, USCIS stated that all asylum decisions across the country would be put on hold.
Cotton’s plan is happening amid a political atmosphere where Republican-led states are aggressively changing laws about immigration, race-based decision-making, and civil rights. Recently, South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster told state agencies to stop using race as a consideration in public spending and contracts. His executive order tries to change procurement processes that have been in place for decades and bring the state in line with recent Supreme Court decisions that have limited programs based on race. McMaster added that “merit and value,” not set-asides or quotas, should guide public money.
That drive has caused a lot of political problems in the state, which have spread to other arguments. For example, Attorney General Alan Wilson is fighting Colorado’s gender-identity lodging laws, and there are fights between Democrats and Republicans in South Carolina’s own congressional delegation.
Cotton’s measure fits well into this larger trend: a lot of conservative leaders are trying to make public policy more about strict enforcement, restrictive definitions of who is eligible, and constitutional concerns about fairness. It’s not obvious if Congress will pass the American Citizens First Act, but its release adds another high-stakes idea to the quickly changing immigration environment in the US.
