Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston addressed the sudden cancellation of citizenship ceremonies at Faneuil Hall, which has plunged the immigrant community into uncertainty regarding their pathway to U.S. citizenship. The naturalization ceremonies, set for December 4, were called off for applicants from countries labeled high-risk by the federal government. Speaking at Faneuil Hall, Mayor Wu criticized the abrupt policy change that left many who had completed the stringent requirements for citizenship in a lurch. "It is disturbing to the upmost degree, infuriating that here, many people who had put in a ton of work to become a U.S. citizen, who had gone though every step of the process who and checked off every stringent requirement were then pulled out of line because of a sudden change in policy," Wu said, according to NBC Boston.
The cancellations were a direct result of policies from the Trump administration, with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) halting immigration pathways for people from 19 high-risk countries. Project Citizenship's executive director Gail Breslow relayed the distress faced by her clients, including one Haitian woman, a 55-year-old who found out she could not become a citizen upon arriving for her ceremony. "To be literally turned away at the door is despicable," Breslow told NBC Boston, depicting the slammed door in the face of potential citizens.
In her condemnation of these actions, Mayor Wu called the policy "hateful" and specified that individuals from varying countries who had lived lawfully in the US for years were targeted. On the significant date marking the anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, Wu discussed the canceled ceremonies within the greater context of a celebration for small businesses owned by women and people of color, as reported by The Boston Globe.
According to Breslow in a statement obtained by The Boston Globe, several of her clients affected by these cancellations worked in various sectors, including health care, tech, and as Uber drivers. Adding to the complexity, federal authorities are said to be creating a "vetting center" in Atlanta to intensify scrutiny on immigrants from the designated high-risk countries. This has left many individuals in limbo, with no clear indication of when or if they will be able to take the oath of citizenship. Most concerning, these developments affect not only new applicants but also those who were just moments away from becoming citizens.
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