A columnist noted the irony of President Donald Trump demanding immigrants ace a "moral fitness" test that he likely couldn't pass himself.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that agents would focus primarily on the “good moral character” of migrants seeking American citizenship, which MSNBC's Jarvis DeBerry called out as obviously problematic in multiple ways.
"First, it follows previous moves by the Trump administration to tighten and whiten the bottleneck of people entering the United States and to ramp up the number of people it can deport or order out," DeBerry wrote.
"But there’s another, glaring reason it’s problematic," the columnist added. "Imagine doing everything objectively necessary to become a citizen of the United States of America and then being told you’re about to have your character assessed by an administration led by President Donald Trump. You might wonder exactly what you’re supposed to pass. Be honest or dishonest? Charitable or greedy? Neighborly or narcissistic?"
Donald Trump, of all people, is ill-equipped to judge the character of another person, DeBerry argued.
"The president was found liable of sexual abuse and defamation," DeBerry wrote. "The president falsified business records. The president was impeached twice. The president is a prolific prevaricator. Loyalty to Trump — and a commitment to parroting the lies that Trump tells — has become a prerequisite for some federal positions. Surely, no one with Trump’s track record could pass any legitimate test of moral character, but we’re supposed to accept his administration as the arbiter of who’s good enough to become a citizen?"
USCIS issued guidance Friday in a policy memo expanding the evaluation of the good moral character naturalized citizens have been expected to demonstrate since 1790, but DeBerry said the definition laid out in the document was so nebulous as to be meaningless – especially with Trump as president.
"How, exactly, do people — especially in this Trump era — affirmatively establish that they’re worthy of being citizens?" DeBerry wrote. "Must they have Lee Greenwood playlists on their phones? Truth Social installed as an app? Receipts for Trump’s Victory 45-47 in their inboxes?"
