The Trump administration has proposed a new policy that would require people applying for US citizenship, green cards, asylum, or refugee status to disclose their social media handles to the government. According to a notice published in the Federal Register, the policy aims to enhance the vetting and screening process for immigrants, citing national security concerns.

The proposal, put forth by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), would affect over 3.5 million people, including those seeking to adjust their immigration status, asylum-seekers, refugees, and their relatives. The policy is framed as a response to President Trump's executive order "Protecting the United States from Foreign Terrorists and Other National Security and Public Safety Threats," issued on his first day in office.

Immigrant advocates have expressed strong opposition to the proposal, arguing that it would "weaponize digital platforms" against immigrants and constitute "authoritarianism and undemocratic surveillance." Beatriz Lopez, executive director of Catalyze/Citizens, a pro-immigration group, stated that the policy would force immigrants to "watch their every move and censor their speech or risk their futures in this country."

Kathleen Bush-Joseph, an analyst at the Migration Policy Institute's US immigration program, noted that the proposal could be seen as an attempt to modernize the immigration system, which "does not really reflect the reality of the twenty-first century in important ways." However, she cautioned that it is too early to determine whether the policy would be used to reject applications for green cards, citizenship, and refugee status.

The proposed policy goes beyond a similar measure implemented by the State Department in 2019, which required visa applicants to disclose five years' worth of social media history. Unlike the USCIS policy, the State Department's efforts apply to foreign nationals applying for visas from outside the country, rather than immigrants already in the US seeking to adjust their status.

In 2019, two documentary filmmakers sued the Trump administration over the State Department's social media policy, arguing that it violated the First Amendment and lacked a proven national security justification. Although a federal judge dismissed the case, the Brennan Center and the Knight First Amendment Institute appealed the ruling, and the policy remains in place.

The public has until May 5 to comment on the proposed policy. As the debate unfolds, it remains to be seen whether the administration's efforts to expand social media surveillance will be met with further legal challenges and public backlash.