Local immigrants who had their naturalization ceremonies abruptly cancelled this week have an ally in their quest to get U-S citizenship. Senator Chuck Schumer is demanding the Trump administration reverse its decision to halt the ceremonies.
The White House told WSYR TV that some local courts do not have the jurisdiction to approve naturalization. Schumer argued families prepared for years, and satisfied numerous steps, only to have their hopes dashed as they were taking the final step.
Schumer sent a letter to the U-S Citizenship and Immigration Service, USCIS, in which he claimed that it’s the agency’s obligation to allow these ceremonies.
“Across New York, families were preparing for one of the happiest days of their lives, only to have the rug pulled out from under them by the Trump administration. … They represent the American dream and deserve to take the Oath of Allegiance and officially become a citizen,” said Schumer in a release. “They (the Trump administration) are adding more hurdles and reducing the venues for people to become citizens, and these unexplained cancellations fly in the face of USCIS’s obligations under the law.”
Meanwhile, State Attorney General Letitia James calls the cancellations alarming, while State Senator Chris Ryan says halting ceremonies in seven Upstate counties is unpatriotic.
In a statement to CBS News, USCIS says some county courts don’t meet federal requirements to conduct naturalization ceremonies.
One naturalization ceremony was cancelled in Onondaga County this week. Other counties impacted include Broome, Tompkins, Westchester, Rockland, Schenectady, and Washington counties that saw cancellations of citizenship events.
Federal officials said everyone who was scheduled will be processed at a later date.
