Westchester County officials have urged the Trump administration to reverse a decision it made to end naturalization ceremonies in the county during which immigrants become American citizens. The ceremonies have been taking place for many years in White Plains with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) working with the county clerk.
The Trump administration canceled the ceremonies that had been scheduled for August, October and November and notified Westchester that there will be no new ceremonies scheduled. The ending of citizenship ceremonies in Westchester means that candidates for citizenship must travel to the federal building at 26 Federal Plaza in lower Manhattan to take their oath of allegiance and formally become a U.S. citizen. Trump’s immigration agents have been arresting for deportation immigrants who have gone to federal facilities in order to comply with required procedures to become citizens.
“(It’s) a little bit scary is what I’m saying to you,” County Clerk Tim Idoni said. “It’s much safer here in White Plains because we are sensitive and we handle things well.”
Idoni said there are five other counties in which the Trump administration has canceled naturalization ceremonies. He said they seem to have elected leaders who are Democrats. Her described it as “a little bit fishy, to say the least.”
Idoni, Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins, State Sen. Shelley Mayer, County Legislator David Imamura and County Clerk-Elect Tom Roach were among those speaking out about the situation during an event at the County Office Building in White Plains on Nov. 19.
“To me, this should be something everyone can get behind,” Roach said. “These are people who play by the rules, followed all the rules, basically had to live a perfect life here. You can’t have any kind of check mark on your record. By doing it here (in White Plains) it offers people the opportunity to be accompanied by their family, to avoid the stress of going into the city and to savor this important moment in their lives.”
Mayer said that people who go through the naturalization ceremony are “so proud to be Americans. For all the people in our community regardless of their politics they take great pleasure in seeing this open display of patriotism and joy of being an American. I’m very hopeful they reverse this decision, which to me smacks of some mean-spiritedness.”
Imamura said that in the past he had attended naturalization ceremonies and recalled thinking that there was no one more American than the people in that room who had just become citizens.
“We are a nation of immigrants,” Imamura said. “Let’s not make it more difficult for immigrants to become a part of our nation.”
Jenkins said, “Idoni formally wrote to USCIS to express deep concern about the abrupt cancellation. The letter emphasized the significant impact that this decision will have on our county residents. That letter went to several people including myself, Congressmen Mike Lawler and Congressman George Latimer among others and both U.S. senators as well.”
Jenkins said that both Lawler and Latimer responded that they were working very hard to try to reverse what had been done.
“For years the naturalization ceremonies have been here in Westchester County and it’s an essential service for our residents,” Jenkins said. “We’re home to a diverse and growing population of our immigrant community and these ceremonies provide a local, accessible and dignified path for those new Americans. The county clerk of Westchester County stands ready to work with USCIS in any way necessary to continue to maintain these ceremonies right here in Westchester County. ”
