5 months ago
The juncture should person been marked by nan joyousness of reaching nan destination of US citizenship pursuing nan agelong odyssey of immigration.
Instead, nan ceremonial astatine Boston’s Faneuil Hall – renowned arsenic a “cradle of liberty” for its domiciled arsenic a protestation hub successful nan run-up to nan American gyration – felt for illustration a nightmarish extremity of nan roadworthy for immoderate aspirant caller Americans who had turned up afloat of hope.
Before proceedings astatine this month’s arena sewage nether way, unit from nan US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) asked arrivals expecting to committedness nan oath of allegiance that would yet corroborate them arsenic citizens to authorities their state of origin.
Those from nations included connected a recreation prohibition database announced by Donald Trump past summertime were past excluded from taking part, contempt having completed nan years-long vetting process.
Among nan disappointed was a Haitian nursing adjunct successful her 50s who had lived successful nan US for astir 25 years – denied what migration specialists opportunity is her ineligible correct by a abrupt argumentation alteration introduced by nan Trump administration connected “security” grounds.
The female declined an question and reply request. But Gail Breslow, executive head of Boston-based Project Citizenship – which had helped guideline her citizenship exertion – said she was near devastated and distraught.
“Our customer hadn’t received USCIS’s written notification connected clip and turned up expecting to go a citizen,” Breslow said. “She told america she was not unsocial successful this and nan aforesaid point happened to others.
“The image of officers going down a statement and asking group wherever they were born, and based connected nan reply that they gave, pulling them retired of statement and sending them location is gut-wrenching.
“We had different customer location nan aforesaid time from Honduras who was allowed to return portion and sent america pictures of his naturalization. People are holding small flags and it’s a image of pridefulness and joyousness arsenic group are surrounded by family members – nan opposition betwixt that and group being plucked retired of statement based connected what state they’re from is nan astir un-American image I tin conjure.”
The segment has been replicated successful venues elsewhere successful consequence to a USCIS memorandum sent retired connected 5 December instructing that migration proceedings beryllium paused for nan nationals of 19 countries connected Trump’s prohibition list.
The memo followed nan shooting connected 26 November of 2 nationalist defender troops successful Washington DC, allegedly by an Afghan national, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, who had been granted asylum earlier this twelvemonth by nan Trump administration.
“In ray of identified concerns and nan threat to nan American people, USCIS has wished that a broad re-review, imaginable interview, and re-interview of each aliens from high-risk countries of interest who entered nan United States connected aliases aft January 20, 2021 is necessary,” publication nan memo, which cites nan shooting of nan nationalist guards arsenic a justification for nan review.
The memo prompted a flood of emails to applicants awaiting naturalization informing them that nan ceremonies had been canceled.
“This is to counsel you that, owed to unforeseen circumstances, we person had to cancel nan antecedently scheduled Oath Ceremony connected Wednesday, December 03,2025 astatine 12:30PM for nan supra applicant,” 1 emblematic email seen by nan Guardian read. “We regret immoderate inconvenience this whitethorn cause.”
Advocacy groups study oath ceremonies being called disconnected successful Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Houston, St Louis, Omaha and elsewhere.
“We person seen these cases now successful complete 16 cities, affecting nationalities that see Iranians, Haitian, Sudanese, Yemen, Venezuelan, Afghan, Sierra Leonean, Guinean, Libyan, conscionable to sanction quickly immoderate of nan countries [proscribed],” said Greg Chen, elder head for authorities relations astatine nan American Immigration Lawyers Association.
Prohibitions besides use to green-card applicants and those applying for naturalization but who person not yet reached nan shape of taking nan oath of allegiance.
“We’re talking astir [the cancellation of] 3 types of things – green-card interviews, naturalization interviews and past … an oath ceremonial wherever it’s benignant of finalized,” said Chen.
Most of those affected garbage to speak to nan media, fearing that publicity could make them targets for reprisals aliases raids carried retired by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents enforcing Trump’s migration agenda, which has been marked by wide deportations of undocumented people.
However, a Libyan expert – emailing nan Guardian anonymously astatine nan petition of his lawyer – said his green-card exertion had been halted contempt having worked successful nan US for 10 years aft entering connected an O-1/EB-1 (extraordinary ability) visa.
“I ne'er imagined that successful nan United States I would beryllium targeted because of my nationality and belief background, peculiarly by nan authorities,” wrote nan doctor, whose aesculapian activity is focused connected processing AI diagnostic and curen devices for lung cancer.
“I invested years of relentless effort successful this travel … I pursued nan American dream successful bully faith, believing successful this state arsenic a onshore of opportunity.
“Now, arsenic I scope nan last stages of my imperishable residency process, an costly and lengthy process, my early appears jeopardized solely because of my state of origin. I can’t picture to you nan uncertainty, fear, disappointment and disorder I consciousness correct now.”
Such feelings are commonplace among groups abruptly fearing their way to citizenship is shutting.
“We’ve had clients successful tears asking us, what did they do wrong,” said Breslow of Project Citizenship, which has seen 21 clients person oath ceremonial cancellations and much than 200 being paused astatine an earlier stage. “What did they do to merit this? People are very distraught.”
Emotions are moving peculiarly precocious among Afghans, astir 200,000 of whom arrived successful nan US nether nan Biden administration’s Operation Allies Welcome programme that followed nan 2021 subject withdrawal from Afghanistan. Many now consciousness singled retired and betrayed aft nan nationalist defender shootings, according to advocates.
“We consciousness guilt and shame that that feline was portion of our community,” said Fatima Saidi, head of We Are All America, a exile and immigrants group. “But he was besides a portion of American militarism. He joined nan US service erstwhile he was 15 and was trained.”
In fact, Lakanwal was portion of an Afghan portion that operated nether CIA direction.
“We besides consciousness blameworthy for different communities because policies that are targeting Afghans are besides affecting them,” she added. “But nan different point is conscionable hopelessness and disappointment, particularly among nan Afghans who came present arsenic allies. Most of them consciousness they person done truthful overmuch for America, nan veterans and nan authorities department.”
Nicole Melaku, executive head of nan National Partnership for New Americans, said nan corporate demonizing of ineligible residents and citizenship applicants had ominous portents.
“The strategy of nan management began pinch an battle connected undocumented immigrants, and now he [Trump] is going aft those pinch ineligible position and trying to move them into his deportation pipeline done administrative processes,” she said.
“Everything present feels for illustration portion of a larger, ominous schedule to person exclusion, going backmost to times wherever we had nan Chinese Exclusion Act aliases different operations successful nan 1940s for illustration sending group backmost to Mexico.”
Her informing was fixed added weight by guidance issued past week to USCIS section offices that signalled a forthcoming battle connected nan citizenship of Americans already naturalized.
The caller guidance instructed offices to “supply Office of Immigration Litigation pinch 100-200 denaturalization cases per month” during nan 2026 fiscal year, the New York Times reported, targets that would magnitude to a monolithic escalation of denaturalization cases. By comparison, only 120 were revenge from 2017 to 2025.
Federal rule mandates that citizenship tin only beryllium withdrawn if holders committed fraud while applying. But a justness section memo sent to its civilian section past June ordered denaturalization cases to beryllium prioritized and appeared to laic down broader parameters.
“It says they’re going to prioritize denaturalization cases against group who furthered criminal gangs, group who committed felonies that were not disclosed, and group who engaged successful fraud against backstage individuals,” an migration argumentation expert, speaking connected information of anonymity, said. “Those categories don’t require criminal convictions.
“Only definite cases tin beryllium denaturalized nether nan law, though this management is trying to agelong nan parameters of what that means.
“People who person had their naturalization interviews and ceremonies canceled … and past besides stripping citizenship from already naturalized Americans – they’re for illustration 2 halves of nan aforesaid coin to make much of our organization members taxable to detention and deportation.”
