美國公民及移民服務局不再稱美國爲“移民國家”

The U.S. agency that handles residency and citizenship applications this week stopped referring to the United States as a "nation of immigrants" in its mission statement, a change that prompted raised eyebrows in Washington.

The revised mission statement, first reported on Thursday, was noted in a letter from the director of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services to agency employees as a change to "guide us in the years ahead."

The beginning of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services mission statement, as recently as Wednesday, read:

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 statement now reads:

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.

USCIS says the new wording was developed by director L. Francis Cissna, who said it clearly defines the agency's role and makes clear who it serves.美國負責居留與入籍申請事項的政府部門本週起停止在其使命聲明中稱美國爲“移民國家”。這項改變在華盛頓引起一陣譁然。
美國公民及移民服務局(USCIS)這項修改過的使命聲明最先於週四被媒體報道。USCIS局長在寫給單位職員的信件中表示這是“在未來這些年將指引我們”的改變。

直到星期三，USCIS的使命聲明開頭還是：

“USCIS確保美國作爲移民國家的承諾，爲我們的客戶提供準確和有用的信息、覈准移民與公民身分福利、提升對公民身分的意識與瞭解，並且確保我們移民體系的公正。”

現在改成了下面的詞句：

“美國公民及移民服務局管理國家的合法移民系統，有效率而且公平地裁決關於移民福利的請求，同時保障美國人、確保國土安全，並尊崇我們的價值，以此來守護這個系統的公正與承諾。”

USCIS表示，新的用詞是由局長希斯納(L. Francis Cissna)構思出來的，希斯納認爲這清楚地界定了USCIS的角色，也說明了服務對象。