DHS to require green card applicants to return to home countries to apply

A major shakeup is coming for green card applicants here in the United States, and this is important.The Trump administration says anybody in the U .S.who wants a green card has to return to their home country to apply.DHS says the new policy will allow immigration, quote, to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes.But with half a million people applying for green cards from here in the U .

S.each year, critics say it's just Trump's latest immigration crackdown.NBC's Jonathan Allen is joining me now from the White House briefing room.Jon, talk us through the impact of this new memo and do we have any sense of how the Trump administration is going to enforce that?

It's not immediately clear, Tom, whether this will actually go into effect.Presumably there will be lawsuits.There is a law, there are laws, regarding who can be in this country legally.People applying for green cards from within the country can be here on student visas, can be here on work visas, can be here under refugee status.And so there is every indication from immigrant rights groups that they are going to be here.a on a green card.

Yeah, well as DHS rolls out this new requirement, we have Secretary Mullen saying that he might remove CBP processing from sanctuary city airports.Here's what he said last week.Well, we don't have audio on that, but John, walk us through what he said last month real quickly and then Is that next?And how would removing those agents from airports impact an already stressed out travel industry?

And what he's saying, Tom, basically is that he wants to remove some of these border patrol agents from airports in what the administration refers to as sanctuary cities, basically Democratic cities, largely Democratic cities, where undocumented immigrants are protected.You know this better than I do with your experience in the airline industry.This would affect not only those cities and the residents of those cities who want to, you know, who want to be able to travel and have their airports open and make sure that they're safe, but obviously the airlines themselves.And I believe we've got a statement from Airlines for America, which is the primary lobbying group for the airlines for folks to look at, but basically making the point that they see this as problematic.

Yeah.Airlines for America says reducing CBP staffing at major airports would have a devastating effect on the airline and tourism industries, causing a significant operational disruption to carriers, travelers, and the flow of international cargo.A lot to watch on your beat.Jonathan Allen, thank you very much.