The federal government’s decision to cancel naturalization ceremonies across New York came as a surprise to officials in the counties that have traditionally held those events. The cancellations leave in limbo immigrants who have completed years of work to qualify to become American citizens, at a time when federal authorities are detaining and deporting non-citizens.
Onondaga County would have hosted a naturalization ceremony Wednesday. County Clerk Emily Bersani said she was only told by an official of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency (USCIS) that ceremonies are cancelled and will be rescheduled.
“There was no explanation given” for the cancellation, she said.
Clerk’s offices in Broome, Rockland, Schenectady, Tompkins, Washington and Westchester counties received similar notices.
A statement to WRVO Public Media from USCIS said, “After reviewing the jurisdiction of certain New York county courts under the Immigration and Nationality Act, we have determined that these courts do not meet the statutory requirements to conduct naturalization ceremonies. As a result, USCIS will transition from judicial to administrative ceremonies to ensure compliance with the law. Aliens scheduled for ceremonies at these courts will be rescheduled, and their naturalization process will continue.”
The statement does not explain the requirements that the affected counties failed to meet and did not answer several questions we asked in our request for information. Administrative ceremonies can be handled out of public view in federal offices while judicial ceremonies tend to be public events where a state or federal judge swears in a large group of immigrants all at once.
Bersani said that, as a child of a naturalized immigrant, these ceremonies are “beautiful” and important to her. She worries, however, about immigrants who were just days or weeks away from becoming Americans and who now have to wait.
“I don't like to jump to my own conclusions, but with everything going on at the federal level, it's coming at a time where there's a lot of fear,” she said.
State and federal legislators have criticized the sudden cancellations and have called for the policy to be reversed. Central New York Rep. John Mannion (D-Syracuse) said in a statement to WRVO Public Media, “These reports are certainly concerning, and my office has contacted USCIS for clarification on what prompted this and what the plan is going forward.”
Hudson Valley Republican Rep. Mike Lawler said he expressed his concerns to USCIS leaders in a phone call, adding, “We owe it to these new Americans not to pull the rug out from under them. My wife is an immigrant - one of the happiest days of our lives is when she attended a naturalization ceremony and became an American citizen. Stealing that same joy from other to-be-citizens is wrong, plain and simple.”
A statement from Central New York State Sen. Christopher Ryan (D-Syracuse) said, in part, “[T]he decision made by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Department (USCIS) to stop all naturalization ceremonies in seven Upstate New York counties, including Onondaga County, with zero explanation is not only deeply concerning and unpatriotic but also not reflective of the principles established by our Constitution.”
A special naturalization ceremony is held each year in August at the Great New York State Fair in Syracuse, in which approximately 100 people become citizens. Spokeswoman Katie Rey said, “The Fair has not been made aware of plans to cancel the naturalization ceremony, which has helped more than 1,000 new Americans realize their dream of becoming citizens over the last decade. Fair staff will continue to closely monitor the situation as more details become available.”
Bersani is hopeful that ceremonies will resume soon. “It’s a waiting game,” she said. “We can't have these folks [who are] just waiting to not know their legal status. They deserve to receive that citizenship paperwork. They've done the work. They deserve it.”
