Abstract

Excerpted From: Ainsley Gordon, Naturalization Roulette: How the Lack of Transparency in the United States Naturalization Process Is Failing Refugees and Immigrants, 63 University of Louisville Law Review 147 (Fall, 2024) (304 Footnotes) (Full Document)

The refugee process can inflict an immense amount of trauma on individuals. The refugee experience has commonly been divided into three categor4 ies: pre-migration, in transit, and post-migration. The pre-migration stage, occurring when the refugee is still in their original country, may introduce the individual to “physical or psychological trauma, including the death of a loved one, inability to live daily life, and denial of basic necessities.” This trauma can be compounded by exposure to war and ethnic and domestic violence. The in-transit phase occurs in the transition between the refugee's home country and the safer country, often taking place in a refugee camp. While these camps are seen to be safe escapes for the individuals, they “are often as dangerous and may have higher mortality rates than countries of origin due to 'interethnic strife, sexual violence, and disease epidemics.”’ During this time of uncertainty, many families are separated. Refugees do not feel safe as they live in fear that they will not survive their travels or that they will be sent back to their original country. The final stage, the post-migration process, begins as the refugee enters the new country, seeking asylum. This stage is particularly traumatic for refugees in that it can inflict “social isolation, identity confusion, loss of cultural community and family members, the loss of important life projects, a lack of environmental mastery, poverty and resource accumulation, and the loss of valued societal roles.”

Ultimately, each stage of a refugee's experience in the migration to a new country can cause distress to the individual, affecting their mental health conditions. Literature concerning refugees shows an “unusually high prevalence of mental illness in refugee populations [as they] are at a particularly elevated risk for psychiatric disorders like depression, substance use, post-traumatic stress, and psychosis which are often directly related to the physical and psychological torture they experienced.” Throughout refugees' migration to the United States, many individuals suffer through a myriad of brain-altering experiences such as torture, assault, and violence which could inflict prolonged adverse health effects on the refugees. From PTSD to depression to anxiety to traumatic brain injuries, refugees suffer through horrifying experiences that permanently alter their brain activity. This ultimately can impact their ability to acquire new languages, therefore posing a bar to their ability to naturalize.

The current naturalization law requirements include age restrictions, lawful permanent resident (LPR) status, continuous residence, physical presence, good moral character, attachment to Constitution principles, and most relevant to this Note, “[t]he ... ab[ility] to read, write, and speak and understand English and have knowledge and an understanding of U.S. history and government.” The wide variety of approaches toward immigration policy within the last two presidential administrations has caused major shifts in the naturalization laws. This dramatic fluctuation in how the United States government views and handles naturalization has caused harm to many individuals going through the immigration process due to the inability to foresee how the law will be altered while they are in the process of applying.

One primary avenue for this lack of consistency can be seen in the functioning of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) administrative agency. This Note argues that the lack of transparency between the USCIS and its applicants and their advocate groups has caused a lack of consistency in the implementation of the naturalization laws regarding the exceptions to some requirements for those with medical disabilities.

This Note uses the term refugee with respect to all migrants fleeing trauma, regardless of their initial immigration status. Whether they arrived as asylum seekers or through some visa process, the physical and psychological effects can play the same role in the naturalization process. The foundational issues and hardships addressed in this Note are reflective of both refugees and immigrants whose disabilities the naturalization process does not properly support.

The background of this Note provides an overview of the origins of immigration and naturalization law within the United States. This section identifies the legislation that introduced the language requirement and the civics requirement that is still active in the current regulations, which is particularly challenging for refugees struggling with mental illness. Additionally, it explores the harmful intentions of the creators of this legislation and why they introduced the requirements in the first place. This section further chronicles the beginning of the implementation of the exceptions for the language and civics requirements for those with medical disabilities.

Part I of this Note analyzes the shifts in naturalization regulations between former President Donald J. Trump's and President Joe Biden's administrations. Section I.A analyzes the circumstances behind changes in the mission statement for the USCIS and how both the public and the agency's employees perceived those changes. Next, this section chronicles the alterations of the policies and procedures used by the officers of the USCIS and criticisms of those changes. Further, it identifies how these fluctuations affected the implementation of the laws, ultimately harming refugees' ability to gain lawful entry into the United States. Section I.B identifies potential sources of the inconsistent execution of these laws. This section explores the psychological ideologies of those who work within the bureaucracy and why their actions and decisions may lead to biased or flawed results.

Part II of this Note presents resolutions to help promote consistency within the rules and regulations of naturalization laws. Section II.A highlights the importance of transparency between the USCIS agency and its stakeholders. Section II.B emphasizes the importance of more rigorous training within the USCIS and readily available resources for stakeholders in order to promote more efficiency within the naturalization process. By increasing training and self-regulation on the side of the USCIS, the process could improve consistency across the board. Further, providing stakeholders with transparency about naturalization data regarding disabled refugees could increase the efficiency of the USCIS and help support the refugees going through the process of naturalization.

This Note concludes by underlining the importance of creating a consistent, efficient naturalization process for individuals who are often in a very vulnerable position. In 2022, 781,075 individuals applied for naturalization, and the USCIS denied 111,637 the right to citizenship. Making the naturalization process more consistent and transparent would help make the process more efficient for every party involved. The overall goal of this Note, therefore, is to analyze the current legislation surrounding naturalization and the consistency of its enforcement to pinpoint areas to make the process more equitable for refugees and immigrants.

[. . .]

The laws surrounding immigration and naturalization have been ever-changing since their implementation. This fluctuation has led to much confusion for applicants, lawyers, non-profit employees, and doctors who are subject to these regulations before the USCIS alters them again. While exceptions for those with disabilities are a relatively new concept, they are a vital resource for so many individuals immigrating to the United States. Comparing President Biden's and former President Trump's strategies for immigration regulation showcases the vast juxtaposition within the United States and highlights how quickly the rules and regulations can change for those going through the process. Along with the uncertainty of changing immigration laws, bureaucratic violence and bureaucratic errors persist in impacting the livelihoods of those utilizing the USCIS. With the presidential election forthcoming, it is imperative to enforce transparency and accountability within the agency before the administration changes. President Biden's administration has shown to be more receptive to the concerns presented by immigration and refugee advocates. Implementing remedies to make the process fairer and more efficient is crucial to giving refugees the significant benefits of United States citizenship, which many deserve but are denied. The journey to a new country can cause an immense amount of trauma on its own; the process of becoming naturalized should not add more on top of that.

J.D. Candidate at University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law, 2025; Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, Western Kentucky University, 2022.