Gotta Tell My Mom, Yet More: Comparing USCIS Mission Statements, Pre- and Post-

In a previous post, and as flagged by reader rtd, I wrote too quickly and did not show the full set of changes to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services mission statement. Apologies for the omission. The wording of the new mission statement — on top of deleting “a nation of immigrants” — are in my mind actually much worse, and I thank rtd for alerting me. Below is a fuller accounting of changes, annotated.

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Guest Contribution: rtd Comments on the Deletion of “a Nation of Immigrants” from USCIS Mission Statement

Anonymous reader rtd took issue with my characterization of the modification of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services in this post, characterizing it as “…disingenuous at best and to me seems to be grossly negligent…”. He takes up my invitation to write his comprehensive response, for which I thank him/her.
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Gotta Tell My Mom

[edited to quote current Mission Statement verbatim, per rtd‘s comment; new text in red, original text below in blue]

America under Mr. Trump is transmuted. US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) modifies its mission statement from:

“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.” [emphasis added – mdc]

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.”

[changed text 2/24 12PM Pacific – thanks to rtd for pointing out that “as a nation of immigrants” is not the only thing modified] Original text reads:

…to:

“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.”

The head of USCIS stated that this change was not at the direction of the White House.

Economic Report of the President, Table 8-2: Projected Productivity Illustrated

Jason Furman points us out to his favorite Table 8-2 in the Economic Report of the President, 2018, released yesterday, with particular reference to the productivity assumption.


Figure 1: Nonfarm real output per hour, 1947Q1=1 (blue), Trump Administration forecast of 2.6% (red), historical average (1953Q2-2017Q3) growth rate of 2% (pink). NBER defined recession dates shaded gray. Source: BLS via FRED, NBER, CEA and author’s calculations.

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