Washington: More than 100 Democratic lawmakers have urged the Trump administration to immediately lift an indefinite pause on immigration and citizenship applications affecting nationals from 19 countries named in President Donald Trump’s travel ban, warning that the move is inflicting widespread harm on legally vetted immigrants and their families.
In a December 18 letter addressed to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Joseph Edlow, the lawmakers said USCIS’s December 2 announcement had resulted in green card applications, naturalization interviews and even oath ceremonies being “paused or cancelled, solely based on the applicants’ national origin”.
“Despite the Trump Administration’s claims of going after the ‘worst of the worst,’ it is attacking the very people who have followed every process and undergone extensive and repeated vetting to secure legal status,” the members wrote.
“This sweeping action is unjustified, discriminatory, and inconsistent with our nation’s founding principles. We demand that you lift this pause immediately,” they said.
The letter, led by Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security and Enforcement, and Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher, details accounts from across the country of applicants being told their cases had been halted, apparently for no reason other than their country of origin.
Lawmakers said the pause is particularly devastating for individuals who had already cleared every legal hurdle to citizenship. In some cases, people who had passed their citizenship exams were “pulled out of line by USCIS officers moments before their oath ceremonies,” the letter said.
“These naturalization ceremonies are a time of celebration, as soon-to-be US citizens welcome their friends and family to witness their achievement of becoming a US citizen,” the members wrote. “To deny this monumental achievement to those who have waited years, if not decades, to pledge the Oath of Allegiance, delaying their naturalisation through no fault of their own, is a slap in the face.
The lawmakers also criticised the lack of clarity surrounding the policy, noting that USCIS has not explained how long the pause will last or what additional vetting, if any, is required. “Without clarity on how long this broad pause will last, soon-to-be citizens will be left in limbo for perpetuity, and families will be forced to remain separated,” they wrote, adding that “no amount of vetting, moral character, or commitment to this country and its democratic values is enough to satiate the Trump Administration.
In their letter, the members requested detailed answers from DHS and USCIS by December 31, including how many citizenship ceremonies have been cancelled, how many applications are affected, and whether any new background or security checks are being conducted on cases that had already undergone extensive screening.
Rep Angie Craig accused the administration of “hindering pathway to citizenship for legal immigrants” and targeting people who “have followed the law and completed the necessary steps to achieve legal status.
Reps. Fletcher and Jayapal said the administration’s decision had “caused chaos across the country,” including incidents in which fully approved applicants were stopped just before taking the oath of citizenship.
The lawmakers also sought assurances that applicants affected by the pause would not lose their eligibility to naturalise or face enforcement action if they fall out of status while waiting for their cases to resume.
President Trump’s travel ban, first announced earlier this year, restricts travel and legal immigration from a list of countries that includes Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia and Yemen, among others, with additional countries later added or placed under partial restrictions, according to congressional materials.
The policy revives one of Trump’s signature immigration approaches from his first term, when sweeping travel bans sparked legal challenges and widespread protests before being upheld in modified form by the US Supreme Court.
(IANS)
