Trump a no-show at citizenship ceremonies
Believe it or not, some immigrants want to hear from President Donald Trump when they become U.S. citizens. Not that they care about the guy who got to the White House by bashing them and who is now going after their compatriots, friends and, in some cases, relatives who are in the country illegally.
But they are curious about what their president has to say to them at their citizenship ceremonies.
They are curious to hear his voice welcoming them as they take the oath, which, in so doing, is supposed to remove them from his wrath.
It’s a mixed bag of emotions that only immigrants really understand.
U.S. presidents traditionally record a short video to play at citizenship ceremonies. And since Jan. 20, when Trump took office, that presidential message has ceased to play.
What happened? Immigrants have come up with all kinds of conspiracy theories, given Trump’s hard-line illegal-immigration policies. And can you blame them? Trump is rounding up undocumented immigrants around the country for deportation and pursuing extreme vetting, a travel ban on six mostly Muslim countries and a wall with Mexico.
Given that, will Trump still follow tradition and welcome new citizens, or will he snub them even after they take the oath to defend and protect this country?
It’s not unusual for new administrations to take several months to record a new video and distribute it to field offices, said Maria Elena Upson, a spokeswoman for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at the Department of Homeland Security. She said, in an emailed statement: “USCIS is committed to elevating the importance of the naturalization ceremony as a venue to recognize and celebrate the rights, responsibilities, and importance of citizenship. The naturalization ceremony is the culmination of the naturalization process and USCIS aims to make administrative naturalization ceremonies positive and memorable moments for the new citizens and ceremony attendees.
“Following a change in administrations, it typically takes several months for a new letter and video message to be produced and distributed to USCIS field offices. During this interim period, USCIS does not provide a congratulatory letter or show a video message.”
I get it. Trump has other priorities. He’s busy tweeting, attacking immigrants, defending Russia and making sure that the Trump business brand remains profitable.
Why waste time on this? It’s not important in the grand scheme of things.
It’s not important for most Americans who were fortunate enough to be born in this great country.
It’s not important for those who didn’t have to spend years, sometimes a lifetime, pursuing the dream of becoming a U.S. citizen.
It’s not important, especially, for those who want to make America white again.
But it is important for many of us immigrants, who love and will die for this country that, once upon a time, embraced us.
We know immigrants aren’t welcome in Trump’s America. But I refuse to believe this will be the permanent America.
Taking the oath of citizenship is a lifechanging milestone that comes with civic responsibilities, which we take seriously.
Honestly, I don’t care to hear Trump’s message welcoming new citizens. He’ll probably use it to bash them, anyway.
Citizenship isn’t about Trump. It’s about the America we love. It’s about the America we still believe in. It’s about the America we foreign-born citizens would die defending.