Two of the immigrants who were naturalized at the White House on Tuesday tell The Wall Street Journal that they weren’t informed prior to the ceremony that it would be broadcast as part of the Republican National Convention, and say they found out only moments before they were sworn in as U.S. citizens by unlawfully appointed acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sec. Chad Wolf that impeached president Donald Trump would also be there.
One of the two women, Neimat Awadelseid, told The Wall Street Journal that she signed a release media form, but didn’t recall anything about a convention. The form itself wouldn’t seem entirely unusual because these ceremonies are often photographed. What was unusual to say the least was the possibly illegal stunt itself, and now a report that these new Americans were kept in the dark. “Several critics said in interviews that it was inappropriate not to tell the participants that they would be part of a political event,” the report continued. Hard um yeah.
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Truly one of the most grotesque and surreal moments from a president who has made attacks on immigrants regardless of legal status his trademark, the administration at the very least violated U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) rules forbidding displays of partisanship in order to use this group of immigrants as human props. In likely confirmation of some violation, BuzzFeed News’ Hamed Aleaziz now reports that “DHS employees were sent an email today with a ‘reminder’ about ‘partisan political activity’ and the rules under the ...Hatch Act.” Rules for thee, but not for Unlawful Chad.
Despite the fact that they were both misled and used as human props by the government of the nation they just swore allegiance to, Awadelseid and Sudha Narayanan told The Wall Street Journal that they were overjoyed to become Americans. And they should absolutely be allowed this moment regardless of this president and unlawful secretary’s involvement, because for those even able to access the naturalization process, it’s a long, expensive, and difficult road.
“We were just happy it was happening in a special place,” Narayanan, a software engineer, said in the report. “It was just a happy moment that I was cherishing with my husband.” Awadelseid, a substitute teacher, “said the ceremony was the culmination of many years of hard work and achieving her dreams of sending her children to American universities,” the report continued. “That’s what she was focused on, she said.”
It would be no shock if it turned out the other new Americans from the group were also kept in the dark about the convention or the impeached president—and certainly don’t expect to hear anything truthful about them from his campaign or administration, which have been essentially the same thing: “The White House directed inquires related to the ceremony to Mr. Trump’s campaign, which declined to comment,” the report said.
“The Trump administration tricked immigrants, who likely waited years for their citizenship, into appearing in an illegal publicity stunt,” tweeted former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro. As he noted yesterday, Trump is staging the stunt as he unlawfully blocks thousands of other asylum-seekers at the border who are also hoping for a chance in America. “These immigrants understand the meaning of citizenship more than @realDonaldTrump ever could.”
