Despair for would-be US citizens as American dream blocked by Trump | US immigration

This event should have been marked by the joy of reaching the goal of US citizenship after a long immigration journey.

Instead, the ceremony at Faneuil Hall in Boston, known as the “cradle of liberty” for its role as a center of protest in the lead-up to the American revolution, felt like a nightmarish end of the road for some eager new Americans who emerged filled with hope.

Before proceedings at this month’s event began, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) staff asked arrivals who were waiting to take the oath of allegiance that would finally confirm they were citizens to indicate their country of origin.

Those from countries on the travel ban list announced by Donald Trump last summer were excluded from participation despite completing a years-long review process.

Among those disappointed was a Haitian nursing assistant in her 50s who had lived in the United States for nearly 25 years; He was deprived of legal rights that immigration experts say were due to a sudden policy change implemented by the Trump administration for “security” reasons.

The woman declined an interview request. But Gail Breslow, chief executive of the Boston-based company, Project Citizenship This person, who guided his citizenship application, said he was left devastated and devastated.

“Our client had not received written notice from USCIS in a timely manner and was hoping to become a citizen,” Breslow said. “He told us he wasn’t alone in this and that the same thing had happened to others.

“It’s heartbreaking when the police line up and ask people where they were born and, depending on the answer, they take them out of the line and send them home.

“We had another client there that same day from Honduras who was allowed to participate and sent us photos of his naturalization. It’s an image of pride and joy because people are carrying little flags and people are surrounded by family members; the contrast between that and people being pushed out of line based on what country they’re from is the most un-American image I can think of.”

The scene was repeated elsewhere in response to a USCIS memo sent on Dec. 5 ordering a pause in immigration proceedings for citizens of 19 countries on Trump’s ban list.

The memo follows the alleged shooting of two National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., on November 26 by Rahmanullah Lakanwal, an Afghan national who was granted asylum by the Trump administration earlier this year.

“In light of the identified concerns and threat to the American people, USCIS has determined that a comprehensive reexamination, potential interview, and reinterview of all aliens who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021, from high-risk countries of concern is warranted,” the memo said, citing the shooting of the national guard as justification for the review.

The memo sparked a flood of emails informing applicants awaiting naturalization that the ceremonies had been cancelled.

“This is to inform you that due to unforeseen circumstances, we have been forced to cancel the Inauguration Ceremony for the above-mentioned applicant, scheduled for Wednesday 03 December 2025 at 12.30pm,” read a typical email seen by the Guardian. “We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”

Advocacy groups reported inauguration ceremonies were canceled in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Milwaukee, Houston, St Louis, Omaha and elsewhere.

“We have now seen these cases in more than 16 cities; they are affecting nationalities including Iranians, Haitians, Sudanese, Yemenis, Venezuelans, Afghans, Sierra Leoneans, Guineans, Libyans. [proscribed],” in question Greg ChenSenior director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

The bans also apply to green card applicants and those who have applied for naturalization but have not yet reached the stage of taking the oath of allegiance.

“We’re talking about [the cancellation of] There are three types of things; green card interviews, naturalization interviews, and then… the swearing-in ceremony where it kind of culminates,” Chen said.

Many of those affected refuse to talk to the media, fearing that the ad could make them targets of retaliation or raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents enforcing Trump’s immigration agenda marked by mass deportations of undocumented people.

But a Libyan doctor, who sent an anonymous email to the Guardian at the request of his lawyer, said his application for a green card had been stopped even though he had worked in the US for 10 years after being granted an O-1/EB-1 (exceptional ability) visa.

“I never thought that I would be targeted in the United States because of my nationality and religious background, especially by the authorities,” wrote the doctor, whose medical work focuses on developing AI diagnostic and treatment tools for lung cancer.

“I have devoted years of continuous effort to this journey… I pursued the American dream in good faith, believing that this country is a land of opportunity.

“As I now reach the final stages of my permanent residence process, which is an expensive and lengthy process, it seems like my future is in jeopardy simply because of my country of origin. I cannot tell you the uncertainty, fear, disappointment and confusion I feel right now.”

Such sentiments are widespread among groups who fear that pathways to citizenship will suddenly close.

“We’ve had clients in tears asking us what they did wrong,” said Project Citizenship’s Breslow, who saw 21 clients’ swearing-in ceremonies canceled and more than 200 paused at an earlier stage. “What did they do to deserve this? People are so miserable.”

Emotions are particularly high among Afghans, about 200,000 of whom came to the United States under the Operation Allied Welcome program following the Biden administration’s military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. Many now feel excluded and betrayed after the national guard shootings, advocates say.

“We feel guilty and ashamed that this man is part of our community,” said director Fatima Saidi. We are all Americaa group of refugees and immigrants. “But he was also part of American militarism. When he was 15, he joined the US army and was trained.”

Actually Lakanwal was part of a group Afghan unit operating under CIA direction.

“We also feel guilty on behalf of other communities because policies targeting Afghans also affect them,” he added. “But the other thing is despair and frustration, especially among the Afghans who came here as allies. A lot of them feel like they’ve done a lot for America, for the veterans, for the state department.”

Nicole Melaku, general manager National Partnership for New AmericansThe collective demonization of legal residents and citizenship applicants carries ominous omens, he said.

“The administration’s strategy started with an attack on undocumented immigrants, and now it’s [Trump] “He goes after those with legal status and tries to transfer them to his deportation line through administrative processes,” he said.

“Everything here feels like part of a larger, sinister agenda of exclusion that dates back to the time of the Chinese Exclusion Act or other operations like sending people back to Mexico in the 1940s.”

His warning gained added weight with guidance issued to USCIS field offices last week, signaling an impending attack on the citizenship of already naturalized Americans.

The new guidance instructed offices to “provide 100-200 denaturalization cases per month to the Bureau of Immigration Litigation” through fiscal year 2026. The New York Times reportedtargets that would lead to a massive increase in denationalization cases. By comparison, only 120 applications were filed from 2017 to 2025.

Federal law mandates that citizenship can only be revoked if there is fraud during the application. But a memo the Justice Department sent to its civil division last June orders that denaturalization cases be prioritized and appears to lay out broader parameters.

“He says they will prioritize denaturalization cases against people who support criminal gangs, people who have committed undisclosed felonies, and people who are involved in fraud against private individuals,” said an immigration policy expert who spoke on condition of anonymity. “These categories do not require criminal convictions.

“Although this administration has tried to expand the parameters of what that means, only certain cases of denaturalization are possible under the law.

“People who have their naturalization interviews and ceremonies canceled … and then people who strip citizenship from already naturalized Americans are like two halves of the same coin to subject more of our community members to detention and deportation.”