The US Citizenship and Immigration Services director who removed the phrase “nation of immigrants” from the agency’s mission statement is the “proud” son of a Peruvian immigrant, according to a report Friday.
Lee Francis Cissna’s mother immigrated to the US from Peru more than 50 years ago, and his wife Tiffany’s mother comes from the Middle East, he told the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Washington Post reported. Both women became US citizens.
“The immigrant experience has always been a fundamental part of my family life, and I would be proud to carry that heritage with me should I be confirmed to be the director of USCIS,” Cissna told the committee at his confirmation hearing in May.
Cissna said he grew up speaking Spanish and speaks the language exclusively to his son and daughter.
“Our family is literally a product of our nation’s legal immigration system,” he told the committee. “Should I be confirmed, these experiences will undoubtedly illuminate everything I do as USCIS director.”
USCIS’s original mission statement read:
“USCIS secures America’s promise as a nation of immigrants by providing accurate and useful information to our customers, granting immigration and citizenship benefits, promoting an awareness and understanding of citizenship, and ensuring the integrity of our immigration system.”
Cissna announced late Thursday that that would be updated to:
“U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administers the nation’s lawful immigration system, safeguarding its integrity and promise by efficiently and fairly adjudicating requests for immigration benefits while protecting Americans, securing the homeland, and honoring our values.”
Cissna defended the broad change, saying the new “simple, straightforward statement clearly defines the agency’s role in our country’s lawful immigration system and the commitment we have to the American people.”
Cissna, who was appointed under the Trump administration, previously served as director of immigration policy at the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Policy.
The White House wasn’t behind USCIS’s change in mission statement, according to the Washington Examiner.
“The White House did not direct USCIS to change its mission statement,” a USCIS official told the Examiner. “It was developed and debuted within the agency by USCIS Director Cissna during his first senior leadership conference with USCIS staff, and reflects the director’s guiding principles for the agency. The new mission statement also has the support of the secretary of Homeland Security.”