Reference no: EM133328704

Case: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is a government agency that administers the immigration system, overseeing lawful immigration and the naturalization process. A requirement for people seeking citizenship through naturalization is demonstrating good moral character in the years prior to application. Good moral character includes obeying laws as well as not attempting to exercise the rights or privileges reserved solely to U.S. citizens. An example is the right to vote in U.S. elections.

In 1993, Congress passed the National Voter Registration Act to increase registrations of eligible voters. The act requires that the states provide people who are getting a driver's license or state ID card the option to register to vote at the same time. Since that time, some non-citizens have accidentally registered to vote when obtaining or renewing a driver's license and were later penalized for it when seeking citizenship. In 2021, the USCIS updated its policies to prevent this penalty in cases where the naturalization candidate had truly not intended to register to vote.

Question 1: Referring to the scenario, describe the executive branch authority exercised by the USCIS in determining a person's qualification for citizenship through naturalization.

Question 2:  Describe an action Congress could take to address the issue of accidental voter registrations by non-citizens.

Question 3: Explain how the action described in part B would affect the interaction between a branch of the federal government and the bureaucracy.