Eye on China: U.S. closes immigration door to communists

FPI / October 6, 2020

The United States has moved to make it essentially impossible for members of any foreign communist party to obtain permanent residence in America.

In a policy alert issued on Friday, Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) said: “In general, unless otherwise exempt, any intending immigrant who is a member or affiliate of the Communist Party or any other totalitarian party … domestic or foreign, is inadmissible to the United States.”

The move was seen as a clear shot at China and its communist leadership.

Chinese supreme leader Xi Jinping has launched several campaigns to crack down on Chinese government officials holding U.S. green cards or other foreign passports. Under Chinese Communist Party (CCP) rules, members face expulsion for taking up foreign residency and Chinese law forbids any citizen from adopting dual citizenship.

The new U.S. policy effectively blocks members of the CCP from ever obtaining permanent residency or citizenship in the U.S.

"China hawks in Washington are trying to separate the Chinese people from the ruling Communist Party," the South China Morning Post noted on Oct. 4.

On Oct. 1, China’s National Day, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a note of congratulations to “the people of China.” Beijing responded by saying any effort to separate the Communist Party from its people was doomed to fail.

Earlier this year, U.S. lawmakers considered banning CCP members from even entering the country, Reuters and The New York Times reported.

According to the Migration Policy Institute, there were 2.5 million Chinese immigrants in the United States in 2018, or about 5.5 percent of its total foreign-born population. In 2018, China accounted for 67,000 of the 1.1 million people granted permanent residency in the U.S., ranking it third in the nation of origin table after Mexico and Cuba.

The USCIS said the policy amendment was “part of a broader set of laws passed by Congress to address threats to the safety and security of the United States.”

Free Press International