Federal immigration neighborhood checks have ‘chilling effect’ in Fresno. Here’s why
The Trump administration announced in late August plans to bring back “neighborhood checks” on immigrants seeking naturalization — a practice that the federal government had not actively enforced since the Clinton presidency.
The policy allows immigration officers to visit an applicant’s home or neighborhood to confirm information about their background and daily life, and some Fresno attorneys say it’s already deterring some immigrants from pursuing citizenship.
Although neighborhood checks have been part of U.S. law since the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, they have not been actively enforced since the 1990s. In practice, federal authorities have relied primarily on FBI background checks instead.
Fresno attorney George Rios, of the Cook & Olson law firm, said that this change makes the citizenship requirement for good moral character more difficult to prove.
“It’s been the process until now that for the most part if someone in the last five years hasn’t gotten into any legal trouble, no criminal history, they’ve paid their taxes, they don’t owe any back child support, then they’re presumed to have good moral character,” Rios said. “This current administration, what they’re doing now is they’re wanting more, so it’s not enough that you haven’t gotten into any trouble.”
The general requirements for becoming a U.S. citizen include being at least 18 years old, holding lawful permanent resident status for a certain number of years, residing in the country for at least half of that time, demonstrating good moral character, passing English and civics tests, and taking the Oath of Allegiance.
Rios explained that an applicant’s activities over the past five years — such as community involvement, furthering their education, or holding a career in an important sector — will now also be considered in demonstrating good moral character.
He said potential clients in Fresno have expressed hesitancy during consultations about the naturalization process and what they’ll be asked to prove.
“Now people are worried that things unrelated to good moral character could affect their case, and that’s creating a chilling effect in communities,” Rios said. “I recently had a consultation where someone asked if getting a divorce would count against them in proving good moral character. I reassured them it wouldn’t — they still qualify. But I told them that what we need to do is be proactive in demonstrating their good moral character. That means gathering letters from family, neighbors, and coworkers, among other things.”
An Aug. 22 policy memorandum stated that USCIS will encourage applicants to submit such letters proactively and consider the testimonials when deciding whether to conduct in-person checks of an applicant’s workplace or neighborhood.
Rios added that the changes could affect how much he charges clients for representation during the naturalization process, potentially leading to higher fees. Still, he wants to wait and see how strictly USCIS enforces the new policies.
Jesús Ibáñez, an immigration attorney in Fresno with the Community Agency for Resources, Advocacy, and Services (CARAS), said he has noticed a significant drop in interest in pursuing citizenship following recent reports of applicants getting detained at USCIS offices and the implementation of stricter rules.
“Oftentimes I get individuals for consultations who need to renew their green cards and they ask ‘Oh, should I take the next step?’ And a lot of individuals are just opting to just do the renewal instead of having to go through the interview for citizenship. Folks truly are scared,” he said.
Ibáñez added that people have also started asking him questions like whether having a child outside of marriage or as the result of an extramarital affair, could impact their ability to demonstrate good moral character.
“Before people weren’t asking how for example having kids before marriage was going to impact their application for citizenship. You get more of those moral questions from people now. This is more recently, since USCIS could go and talk to your neighbors,” he said.
USCIS Director Joseph Edlow told CBS in a statement that the new changes in the naturalization process will “ensure that only the most qualified applicants receive American citizenship.”
“Americans should be comforted knowing that USCIS is taking seriously its responsibility to ensure aliens are being properly vetted and are of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States,” Edlow said.
This story was originally published September 7, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
