Why did this ever stop happening? The Trump administration has announced it will reinstate “neighborhood checks” for immigrants applying to be U.S. citizens. The neighborhood checks will consist of immigration officers conducting interviews with neighbors and employers of immigrants who are applying for U.S. citizenship to ensure they have good moral standing. EXCLUSIVE — The Trump administration is reinstating a long-dormant practice of conducting “neighborhood checks” to vet immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship, expanding its efforts to aggressively scrutinize immigration applications, per a memo obtained by CBS News. pic.twitter.com/LvXj0Ho4gv — Camilo Montoya-Galvez (@camiloreports) August 26, 2025 CBS News reported more on the neighbor checks and what all that entails: The Trump administration is reinstating a long-dormant practice of conducting “neighborhood checks” to vet immigrants applying for U.S. citizenship, expanding its efforts to aggressively scrutinize immigration applications, according to a government memo obtained by CBS News. The neighborhood checks would involve on-the-ground investigations by officials at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services that could include interviews with the neighbors and coworkers of citizenship applicants. The government investigations would be conducted to determine if applicants satisfy the requirements for American citizenship, which include showing good moral character, adhering to the U.S. Constitution and being “well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States.” To qualify for American citizenship in the first place, applicants typically must have lived in the U.S. for three or five years as legal permanent residents. They must also not have any serious criminal records, and pass a civics and English test. The process is known as naturalization. Trump administration restores ‘neighborhood checks’ for citizenship applicants after 30-year hiatus https://t.co/PE3tE45ynX — POLITICO (@politico) August 26, 2025 The method of background checks has been on hiatus for over 30 years, according to Politico: While the 1965 Immigration and Naturalization Act requires these neighborhood checks, the U.S. government hasn’t enforced that since the 1990s. Instead, U.S. officials have relied on the FBI to conduct background checks. The change is the latest move by the Trump administration to add requirements or steps to the legal immigration process. In recent months, the administration has reduced the amount of time foreign nationals can stay in the United States on student visas and imposed new requirements on the diversity visa lottery requiring applicants to have valid passports at the time they submit their documentation. The administration has said its goal is to limit visa overstays and conduct proper scrutiny of migrants. Joseph Edlow, the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said in a statement that “incorporating neighborhood investigations will help enhance these statutorily required investigations to ensure that we are meeting congressional intent.” “Americans should be comforted knowing that USCIS is taking seriously it’s 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 added.