The Trump administration plans to close its international immigration offices, a move that would likely harm members of the military stationed abroad who are trying to apply for citizenship, The Washington Post reported.
The move could also slow down family visa applications and adoptions.
In an email obtained by the Washington Post, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Francis Cissna told staff that the work would likely be shifted to the State Department if an agreement is reached between the two agencies.
“Change can be difficult and can cause consternation,” he said in the email to staff, according to the Post. “I want to assure you we will work to make this as smooth a transition as possible for each of our USCIS staff while also ensuring that those utilizing our services may continue to do so and our agency operations continue undisrupted.”
The Trump administration reportedly believes this will help decrease the backlog of immigration cases inside the U.S. Officials also think the move will save the government millions a year. However, critics say it is just another Trump administration move to slash legal immigration and discourage people from coming to the U.S.
