Mayor Kenney Responds After 'Nation Of Immigrants' Phrase Removed From USCIS Mission Statement
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Mayor Kenney is criticizing the move to remove the phrase "Nation of Immigrants" from the mission statement of a key federal office.
The agency that oversees immigration into the U.S. has just rewritten its mission statement, deleting the phrase "Nation of Immigrants."
Speaking to a meeting of the Philadelphia chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Mayor Kenney said the move by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services was typical of the Trump administration.
"Like, there's no collusion and there's no 'Nation of Immigrants.' None of this -- where did we all come from -- Even the pilgrims were immigrants!" said Kenney.
Bridgeton immigration lawyer Elizabeth Trinidad called the new mission statement "small-minded."
"It seems petty and unnecessary to have tinkered with this mission statement at all," said Trinidad.
The old mission statement referenced "America's promise as a nation of immigrants." The new one says the agency "administers the nation's lawful immigration system."