Megan Keller, The Hill, August 15, 2018

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director L. Francis Cissna on Wednesday defended striking “nation of immigrants” from his agency’s mission statement, arguing that his agency ultimately serves the American people.

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“I don’t think that we serve them. We serve the people,” Cissna continued. “We serve the American people who have conferred upon the agency a special mission through the Congress to administer these immigration laws.”

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“Referring to applicants and petitioners for immigration benefits, and the beneficiaries of such applications and petitions, as ‘customers’ promotes an institutional culture that emphasizes the ultimate satisfaction of applicants and petitioners, rather than the correct adjudication of such applications and petitions according to the law,” Cissna said.

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The new mission statement reads: “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers the nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values.”

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