>Because of the trying times we live in, I will cut to the
chase: Thousands of immigration filings from people already in the
United States will be due in the coming weeks and months. U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has the power to
extend those deadlines with a simple website notice, a
stroke of the digital pen. Doing so could save thousands of lives, potentially, and reduce
the risk of people falling ill from the novel coronavirus.
The agency should act right now.
I served as director of USCIS from 2014 to 2017. One of my most
important duties was ensuring the safety and well-being of the many
immigration officers I had deployed throughout the world. As
terrorist incidents happened in places like Istanbul and Baghdad, I
remember solemn calls where each component of the Department of
Homeland Security asked whether its people were safe and
"accounted for." Each time we were able to breathe a sigh
of relief. Once we knew our immigration officers
