The Trump administration’s cancellation of naturalization ceremonies in counties across New York has sparked outrage on both sides of the aisle.
However, a naturalization ceremony planned for Dec. 12 in Ulster County is still scheduled to happen.
The USA Today Network reported cancellations in Westchester and Rockland counties. Local media reports also show Schenectady, Washington, Tompkins and Onondaga counties received orders from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to suspend ceremonies.
Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck said so far, the county has not received a notice from anyone telling them not to conduct the ceremony.
Bruck said Ulster County officials have been calling U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services daily since finding out about the other counties’ ceremonies being canceled, to clarify the county’s situation. So far, no one from USCIS has gotten back to them.
What happened in Westchester County
In Democratic-led Westchester, where up to 100 immigrants are ushered into citizenship in joyful courthouse gatherings each month, the county was ordered to cancel its ceremonies for August, October and November and all of those that were set to follow, County Clerk Tim Idoni told the USA Today Network.
Idoni and County Executive Ken Jenkins were set to hold a press conference on Nov. 19, to denounce the decision and call for the ceremonies to be restored. Without them, immigrants in Westchester and Rockland who are nearing citizenship must travel to a federal office building in lower Manhattan to take the oath of allegiance that completes their journey to become Americans.
“It’s a crying shame,” Idoni said. “Right now, we have no indication if they’re ever going to give it back to us.”
Rep. Mike Lawler, a Rockland County Republican, condemned the cancellations and released a letter he sent on Friday, Nov. 14, to the agency responsible for the decision after he found out about it. The cancellations by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services were first reported by the Albany Times Union on Tuesday, Nov. 18.
“These ceremonies are emotional and one of the most patriotic expressions I’ve seen in our public systems,” Lawler, whose wife, Doina, is a naturalized citizen from Moldova, said in a statement. “We owe it to these new Americans not to pull the rug out from under them.”
Lawler, whose district spans both sides of the Hudson River and includes both Rockland and half of Westchester, said he has spoken with leaders from Citizenship and Immigration Services and is hopeful that they will restore the two counties’ ceremonies.
What Trump administration says about cancellation of naturalization ceremonies
In a statement to the USA TODAY Network, a spokesman for that federal agency said it had reviewed its legal standards and concluded that courts in certain New York counties were ineligible to conduct naturalization ceremonies. He said those duties will resume through an administrative process but gave no indication when.
“USCIS will transition from judicial to administrative ceremonies to ensure compliance with the law,” spokesman Matthew Tragesser said. “Aliens scheduled for ceremonies at these courts will be rescheduled, and their naturalization process will continue.”
Indoni, who is retiring as Westchester’s clerk in December after 20 years in the job, said he has administered the oath to a total of roughly 50,000 new citizens over his career. He gushed about the warmth of those gatherings for the newly minted Americans and the family members and friends who join them to witness a milestone.
The federal government used to pay his county $13.76 for each new citizen it naturalized, or about $17,000 a year. About three months ago, the Trump administration discontinued those payments, Idoni said.
Westchester was told of the cancellation of its Nov. 12 ceremony in a terse email from Hannah Kwok, section chief of the New York City field office for Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“All candidates scheduled to take the Naturalization Oath will be notified individually and provided with information regarding rescheduling,” Kwok wrote. “Furthermore, there will be no more upstate ceremony moving forward.”
Another New York county affected by the cancellations was Broome, where Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham, a Republican, denounced the derailing of an upcoming naturalization event in his city. He said in a statement that he had presided over many and called them “a snapshot of America at its best — moving displays of patriotism, the pursuit of a better life, and the defining diversity that makes us stronger as a country.”
“The individuals who were days away from taking their oath of citizenship deserve the chance to complete that journey,” Kraham said, calling for the ceremony to be rescheduled. “Any further delay means playing politics with people’s lives.”
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: As feds cancel naturalization ceremonies across NY, this Hudson Valley event remains
Reporting by Chris McKenna and Mike Randall, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
