Getting To No Through A Crackdown On "Lenient" Case Officers At USCIS

The Washington Post reported that US Citizenship & Immigration Services, the federal agency that adjudicates petitions and applications for immigration and naturalization benefits, is creating an internal division to police caseworkers who "may be too forgiving toward applicants for permanent legal residence or citizenship . . ." See Washington Post, US Immigration agency to more closely monitor caseworkers, documents show, March 16, 2018. Agency officials confirmed plans for an internal oversight office, but denied that the office would be focused on monitoring caseworkers perceived as too lenient. See, e.g., The Hill, Federal immigration agency denies that it's creating a new division to police caseworkers, March 17, 2018. An agency spokesperson indicated that a final decision had not been made and all mission or structural considerations are "pre-decisional until they are formally announced."