Former Acting USCIS Director and Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Ken Cuccinelli on Wednesday joined Breitbart News Daily to describe the new U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) policy change requiring officers to consider anti-American activity, including social media posts supporting terrorist organizations, as a “negative factor” in discretionary immigration benefits such as green card applications.
The policy update, first posted by USCIS on social media this week, directs officers to review applicants’ social media and other available evidence for signs of “anti-American activity” when considering discretionary immigration benefits, including lawful permanent residency. Cuccinelli explained that once an immigrant receives a green card, they are typically five years away from eligibility for U.S. citizenship, making the vetting process critical.
“If you’re out there promoting Hamas, for example, or other terrorist organizations and spouting anti-American drivel, you’re not getting the benefit,” Cuccinelli said, noting that immigration benefits are privileges, not rights, for non-citizens. He added that USCIS made clear in its guidance that “anti-American activity will be an overwhelmingly negative factor in any discretionary analysis.”
Cuccinelli credited USCIS Director Joe Edlow, confirmed by the Senate earlier this year, with implementing the change. Edlow previously served as acting director following Cuccinelli’s departure from USCIS during the first Trump administration.
During the interview, Cuccinelli contrasted the administration’s current approach to immigration enforcement with its first term, saying the difference lies in “political will.” He pointed to six major shifts: Expanded military deployment to the southern border, new designations of sections of the border as defense areas, heightened enforcement against cartels, renewed worksite enforcement operations, larger-scale deportations, and tighter vetting of foreign student visa holders.
“These are all things we talked about in the first term, but the White House never pulled the trigger,” Cuccinelli noted. “Now they’re doing it all at once.”
He observed that bipartisan support exists for increasing technology at ports of entry to screen for contraband, drugs, and illegal crossings.
Cuccinelli emphasized the significance of explicitly identifying “anti-American activity” as disqualifying in USCIS policy guidance, saying it ensures agency staff will apply the standard consistently. “It is critically important to make it obvious to those folks. Presumably you find this material and someone is now presumptively not going to get whatever the benefit is they’re seeking, except under extraordinary circumstances,” he stated.
Cuccinelli also discussed his role as national chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative, responding to President Trump’s recent post calling for a movement to end mail-in ballots and replace electronic voting machines. He clarified that while elections are primarily state-run, the federal government plays a role through funding mechanisms such as the Help America Vote Act.
Cuccinelli outlined the initiative supports requiring open-source software for voting machines and the use of secure watermark paper ballots, which he described as the “gold standard” for transparency and accuracy. He emphasized that Trump was speaking about leading a movement, not issuing executive orders, and noted that while the Constitution grants Congress authority over federal elections, decentralization among states provides additional protection against hacking and foreign interference.
Cuccinelli, who previously served as Attorney General of Virginia, also weighed in on President Trump’s takeover in Washington, D.C., calling them “perfectly constitutional.” He noted that as a federal district, the capital is under the complete authority of the federal government, with local home rule granted only at Congress’s discretion.
Citing historical precedent, he recalled that home rule was attempted in the 1870s but struck down by the D.C. court at the time. Cuccinelli suggested this context makes legal challenges uncertain and affirmed he fully supports the President’s approach, pointing out that even the D.C. police have aligned with the administration’s direction.
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