Judge extols immigration in ceremony welcoming new citizens

A federal judge launched an impassioned defense of immigration Friday amid what she characterized as a rise in antiimmigration sentiment.

U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon’s remarks came during the monthly naturalization ceremony at the federal courthouse Downtown.

Judge Bissoon, appointed to the bench in 2011 by then-President Barack Obama, is described in her online bio as “the first Hispanic female Article III judge in Pennsylvania, the first Asian American Article III judge in Pennsylvania and the first South Asian American female Article III judge in the United States.”

Presiding over the naturalization of 45 new citizens Friday, she said, in a cracking voice, that she had in past ceremonies extolled her immigrant parents.

This time, she painted a grimmer picture.

“While judges are not permitted to take public positions on

issues of controversy, I do believe that it is not a violation of that rule to take notice of some indisputable public facts,” she said.

“I recognize, for example, that there continue to be statements made in the public square that may best be described as anti-immigrant. I also recognize that since 2016, there have been multiple incidents of violence against a variety of minority groups and immigrant groups, and institutions that support minorities and immigrants.”

She noted that some might hope to be joined by family members still in their native countries. “Regrettably, I don’t have answers as to what the future holds for our nation’s immigrants or our immigration system. I will say that if the 2016 election was any indication, I do fear that the anti-immigrant sentiment among some may be revisited.”

She offered two points of encouragement.

“You should know that America is what it is in large part because of people like you,” she said.

She then offered a quick course in the Constitution’s checks and balances. ”This country has three branches of government,” she said. “Though sometimes it may not seem that way from what you see on the news, those branches are coequal.”