Immigrants in Boston were just moments away from pledging allegiance to the United States — the final step of their long path toward citizenship — when federal officials abruptly removed several of them from the line, according to a new report. The incident took place Thursday, Dec. 4, at Faneuil Hall, as reported by WGBH, an NPR member station.
People who had already cleared the naturalization process and arrived ready to take the oath were told by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) staff that they could not proceed because of their countries of origin, WGBH and NBC News reported. The individuals were pulled aside after the federal agency instructed employees to halt all immigration cases for nationals from 19 countries already subjected to travel restrictions since June under a proclamation issued by President Donald Trump. Those nations — mostly in Africa and Asia — were deemed high-risk by the administration.
Gail Breslow, executive director of Project Citizenship, a nonprofit that helps immigrants apply for naturalization, told WGBH that a number of her clients received notices canceling their oath ceremonies or appointments, but many had not received the warnings in time. “People were plucked out of line. They didn’t cancel the whole ceremony,” she said, noting that the situation in Boston mirrored similar disruptions at naturalization events across the country.
One of her clients, a Haitian woman who has held a green card since the early 2000s, still attended her oath ceremony because she never received the cancellation in time. Haiti is one of the countries under full or partial restrictions, alongside Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.
Immigrants approved for citizenship ‘plucked out’ of line moments before pledging allegiance: Reporthttps://t.co/LnJaZIfiUV
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“She showed up as scheduled, and when she arrived, officers were asking everyone what country they were from, and if they said a certain country, they were told to step out of line and that their oath ceremonies were canceled,” Breslow told WGBH. “People are devastated, and they’re frightened,” she added.
Another Project Citizenship client pressed Breslow for answers, which she said she wasn’t able to give. “One person was, you know, asking … what did I do wrong? Why is this happening to me? And, you know, needed to be reassured that it wasn’t anything she had done,” Breslow said. “This wasn’t her fault.”
Elizabeth Sweet, executive director of MIRA Coalition — an organization that supports the “rights and integration of immigrants and refugees” — described the handling of the Dec. 4 ceremony as “unnecessarily cruel.” “As an immigrant takes the oath of citizenship, it’s a reflection and recognition of the tremendous sacrifice of time, energy and financial resources they have made in the hopes of becoming a full member of our community and nation,” Sweet told WGBH. “To have that final step canceled is unnecessarily cruel and does nothing to make this country a safer place.”
A USCIS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on Sunday, Dec. 7.
USCIS formally announced the freeze on applications — which includes green card and citizenship petitions — in a memo issued Tuesday, Dec. 2, according to NBC News. “USCIS has considered that this direction may result in delay to the adjudication of some pending applications and has weighed that consequence against the urgent need for the agency to ensure that applicants are vetted and screened to the maximum degree possible,” the memo said. It added, “Ultimately, USCIS has determined that the burden of processing delays that will fall on some applicants is necessary and appropriate in this instance, when weighed against the agency’s obligation to protect and preserve national security.”
In a statement to NBC News addressing the policy, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the Trump administration is “making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best.” The spokesperson added, “Citizenship is a privilege, not a right. We will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake.”
