LEGAL IMMIGRATION
According to a news tip received by The Concho Observer on Wednesday, all U.S. Naturalization Oath ceremonies have been cancelled for locations within the Northern District of Texas, which includes San Angelo.
Although not authorized to comment officially, a person with knowledge of the situation said ceremonies were cancelled via memoranda issued from U.S. Customs and Immigration Services offices in Texas, which cited a lack of applicants as the reason.
According to reporting from the libertarian Cato Institute, the most recent move builds on prior bans barring visas for an estimated 20 precent of legal immigrants.
The most recent announcement brings the number of countries banned to 93, representing about 42 percent of nations on Earth.
The administration cited concerns about welfare in declaring the new policy, with an official State Department communication that stated:
“The freeze will remain active until the U.S. can ensure that new immigrants will not extract wealth from the American people.”
In December, the administration cited national security concerns when announcing the new policy of intensified vetting for immigrants from 19 countries designated as “high-risk,” which advocates say dramatically increased the number of people awaiting their naturalization ceremony who received letters informing them their oath taking ceremony was cancelled.
According to original reporting by Guardian.com news the list of 75 countries being added to the list are:
- Afghanistan
- Albania
- Algeria
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Armenia
- Azerbaijan
- Bahamas
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belarus
- Belize
- Bhutan
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Myanmar
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Cape Verde
- Colombia
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Cuba
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Dominica
- Egypt
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Fiji
- The Gambia
- Georgia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Haiti
- Iran
- Iraq
- Jamaica
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- North Macedonia
- Moldova
- Mongolia
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Republic of the Congo
- Russia
- Rwanda
- St Kitts and Nevis
- St Lucia
- St Vincent and the Grenadines
- Senegal
- Sierra Leone
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Uganda
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Yemen
