Trump Administration Abruptly Cancels Naturalization Ceremonies For Immigrants From 19 Countries

Oath ceremonies are being canceled after the Trump administration introduced strict new restrictions. The restrictions are in response to the killings of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., by an Afghan national.

Immigrants from at least 19 countries were days away from becoming U.S. citizens. Now, many of them are left in shock after the Trump administration began canceling naturalization ceremonies.

“It’s heartbreaking,” a woman identified as Sanam told The BBC.

Sanam is an Iranian immigrant who came to the United States over a decade ago. She’s married to a U.S. citizen and has navigated years of paperwork, tests, and security vetting to reach the final step: the naturalization ceremony. The U.S government canceled her ceremony just days before she was scheduled to take her oath, all because of where she is from.

“It’s been years, just years, and just feeling drained and feeling like, can I even going with this process? Because it’s been so hard,” she added.

Trump Cancels Naturalization Ceremonies For Immigrants From ‘High Risk’ Countries

Oath ceremonies like Sanam’s are being canceled after the Trump administration introduced strict new restrictions. The restrictions are in response to the shooting of two National Guard members in Washington, D.C., by an Afghan national. One of the guardsmen was critically injured while U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom died from her injuries following the Nov. 26 attack.

On Nov. 27, the Trump administration put out a policy release from USCIS, announcing they would undertake enhanced vetting and security measures in response to the tragic shooting. The policy change means that immigration applications from certain countries would be halted. The pause includes green cards and U.S. citizenship processing for people from Iran, Sudan, Eritrea, Haiti, Somalia, and more.

“This is a thinly veiled attempt to thwart people’s efforts to become citizens of this country, in particular, people from certain countries, from certain backgrounds,” Gail Breslow, executive director of Project Citizenship, said on PBS NewsHour.

She added, “These folks have already been fully vetted. And this is, again, just a thinly veiled excuse to encourage people to leave this country.”

According to the New York Times, the new rules could affect more than 1.5 million people with pending asylum applications. The new policy also impacts more than 50,000 people who received asylum grants during the Biden administration.