Jennifer Higgins: Jennifer Higgins is the new acting USCIS Director

Jennifer B Higgins has been appointed as acting USCIS Director on January 20, 2025. Previously, she served as USCIS deputy director since 31 January 2022.
Prior to this appointment, she served in a variety of leadership positions during her more than two decades of federal service, including serving as Acting Chief of Staff at DHS since September 2021 and associate director of the Directorate for Refugees, Asylum and International Operations (RAIO) from January 2017 to 2021.
Higgins holds a master’s degree in comparative politics and has received numerous awards during his federal career, which began in 1999.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) administers immigration services in the United States.
This includes processing applications for visas, citizenship, asylum and more. USCIS also issues employment authorization documents (EADs).
In February 2022, USCIS had unveiled its new mission statement, designating America as a ‘nation of welcome and opportunity’ for immigrants. The new mission statement was a sharp contrast to the move taken by the Trump administration, which in February 2018 had deleted the reference to America being a ‘nation of immigrants‘ from its mission statement.
Last September, USCIS also unveiled a new logo that features the Statue of Liberty with the inscription – Upholding America’s Promise. The previous logo was the American seal depicting the bald eagle.
Immigration experts believe the Trump administration is likely to change the mission statement again to reflect its position on immigration.