Immigrants Approved for Citizenship ‘Plucked Out’ of Line Moments Before Pledging Allegiance: Report

Immigrants who were just minutes away from taking the oath of allegiance in Boston — the final step toward becoming U.S. citizens — were abruptly removed from the line by federal officials, according to a new report.

The incident took place at Boston’s Faneuil Hall on Thursday, Dec. 4, as described by WGBH, a National Public Radio member station.

Applicants who had already been approved for naturalization and had completed the lengthy citizenship process were lined up to pledge allegiance when U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials told some of them they could not proceed because of their countries of origin, the outlet reported.

USCIS staff removed these individuals after the agency instructed employees to pause all immigration applications — including green cards and citizenship — for nationals from 19 countries that have faced travel restrictions since June under a proclamation issued by President Donald Trump, according to WGBH and NBC News. The administration has labeled this group of mostly African and Asian nations as high-risk.

Gail Breslow, executive director of Project Citizenship, a nonprofit that assists immigrants in applying for citizenship, told WGBH that many of her organization’s clients received notices canceling their ceremonies and appointments — but for some, the warning arrived too late.

“People were plucked out of line. They didn’t cancel the whole ceremony,” she said of the Dec. 4 event at Faneuil Hall, which WGBH reported mirrors similar scenes at naturalization ceremonies across the country.

One Project Citizenship client, a Haitian woman who has held a green card since the early 2000s, went to her oath ceremony because she had not received the cancellation notice in time, Breslow said.

Haiti is among the 19 countries subject to full or partial restrictions, along with 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.

“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 the outlet.

“People are devastated, and they’re frightened,” she added.

Another client turned to Breslow for an explanation, which she said she struggled 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 told WGBH. “This wasn’t her fault.”

Elizabeth Sweet, executive director of MIRA Coalition — a group that advocates for “the rights and integration of immigrants and refugees” — described the last-minute actions before 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 immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday, Dec. 7.

USCIS formally announced the pause on applications in a memo dated 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 agency said, per the outlet.

“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,” the memo continued.

In a statement to NBC News about the halted applications, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said the Trump administration is “making every effort to ensure individuals becoming citizens are the best of the best.”

“Citizenship is a privilege, not a right,” the spokesperson added. “We will take no chances when the future of our nation is at stake.”