As part of its strict approach to immigration, the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a new initiative aimed at expanding the scope of security screening to include social media account checks for about 3.5 million people annually applying for permanent residency (green cards) or U.S. citizenship.

According to officials at the Department of Homeland Security, the proposed policy includes reviewing content from platforms such as Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and TikTok to assess “loyalty, beliefs, and adherence to American values,” as part of the in-depth security classification procedures the administration is implementing against what it describes as “increasing threats associated with uncontrolled immigration.”

A step towards tightening digital surveillance

The proposal revives practices that began during Trump's first term between 2017 and 2021, where accounts of a large number of visa applicants and temporary residents underwent digital scrutiny, before the Biden administration later rolled back these measures due to privacy and human rights concerns.

However, the current Trump administration seeks to solidify these measures as part of permanent official policies, with the possibility of linking them to a unified database that includes digital security assessments in collaboration with intelligence agencies.

Human rights concerns and legal warnings

Human rights organizations both inside and outside the United States have expressed concern over the step, viewing the monitoring of applicants' digital lives as a violation of free expression and a threat to the principle of neutrality in immigration procedures. They also warned against “indirect targeting of specific religious and ethnic groups” based on linguistic patterns or political opinions.

Mixed reactions

While supporters of the proposal considered this type of scrutiny “necessary for national security and preventing extremists from exploiting the immigration system,” opponents described it as “an arbitrary measure lacking clear legal standards,” which could turn into an extended surveillance tool that could eventually affect American citizens as well.

While the timeline for implementing the proposal has not yet been defined, sources indicate that the Trump administration intends to include it among the priorities of the Department of Homeland Security during 2025, with instructions to update artificial intelligence tools to comprehensively analyze digital content.