A new rule allowing a U.S. immigration agency to scrutinize a person's “anti-American” views when applying for a green card or other benefits isn't designed to target political beliefs, but to identify support for terrorist activity, the organization's director told The Associated Press.

In a wide-ranging interview on Monday, the director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Joseph Edlow delved into the agency's contentious policy, announced last month, which allows officers to decide whether a foreigner applying for a certain benefit has endorsed what they believe are anti-American views.

Edlow also detailed problems he sees with a training program that's popular with international students - but hated by some Trump supporters - and described how and why he's thinking of changing the process by which hundreds of thousands of people become American citizens every year.

Edlow is overseeing the pivotal immigration agency at a time when President Donald Trump is upending traditional immigration policy and charging ahead with an aggressive agenda that restricts who gets to come into the U.S. through legal pathways.

Questions over what constitutes anti-Americanism

The new policy by USCIS stipulates that its officers could now consider whether an applicant “endorsed, promoted, supported, or otherwise espoused” anti-American, terrorist or antisemitic views when making their decision about whether to grant the benefit.

Critics questioned whether it gives officers too much leeway in rejecting foreigners based on a subjective judgment.

Edlow said the agency needs to be aware of what people applying for benefits are saying online and when that speech becomes hateful. He said the agency won't automatically deny someone a benefit because of what they said but it's a factor they take into consideration.

He said they're not looking for people who've posted anti-Trump speech. He said criticism of any administration was "one of the most American activities you can engage in.”

“This goes beyond that. This is actual espousing (of) the beliefs and the ideology of terrorist, of terrorist organizations and those who wish to destroy the American way of life.”

In examples of speech that might raise a red flag, Edlow noted students who post pro-Hamas beliefs or are taking part in campus protests where Jewish students are blocked from entering buildings.

The Trump administration has made cracking down on student protests a high priority. The government has said noncitizens who participate in such demonstrations should be expelled from the U.S. for expressing views the administration considers to be antisemitic and “pro-Hamas,” referring to the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

In one of the most high-profile examples, federal immigration authorities in March arrested Palestinian activist and green card holder, Mahmoud Khalil, who as a student, played a prominent role in Columbia University’s pro-Palestinian protests.