Trump naturalized five immigrants. There are 315,000 others waiting for him to act.
Too bad President Donald Trump needed only five immigrants for his White House naturalization ceremony photo-op.
For a guy who loves cheering crowds, Trump missed out on 315,000 souls waiting to become U.S. citizens who would have been delighted to serve as props for the president’s reelection bid.
If five can soften Trump’s anti-immigrant persona, then just imagine a sea of 315,000 grateful immigrants waving the American flag as Trump welcomed them as new U.S. citizens to the tune of “Hail to the Chief.”
That’s the kind of campaign stunt I’d be thrilled to see and happy to cheer.
Experts and critics say Trump’s naturalization ceremony done for the Republican National Convention was possibly illegal. But hey, if he was willing to possibly break the law with five, he might as well cram everyone else waiting to become U.S. citizens, right?
If Trump's serious, restart the process
The naturalization ceremony is such a transformational moment that only foreigners who’ve risked it all for a variety of reasons truly appreciate.
I still get chills remembering how proudly I stood with a tiny American flag many years ago reciting the naturalization oath of allegiance to the United States in San Francisco. It wasn’t just about me. That moment represented years of sweat and tears my father and brothers shed in the fields to save enough money for the rest of us to come to the United States.
Trump's RNC naturalization ceremony at White House:Tasteless, hollow and probably illegal
Trump’s naturalization ceremony was surely transformational for the five immigrants who are now U.S. citizens.
What’s infuriating is that it was a mere political stunt designed to throw red meat at Trump’s base and nothing to do with honoring America’s legacy as a nation of immigrants.
While Trump presided over the naturalization ceremony on Tuesday night, hundreds of thousands of immigrants wait. Most of them won't likely become citizens in time to vote this November.
That’s because the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services processing naturalization applications suspended in-person interviews and oath ceremonies because of COVID-19. That federal agency is under Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, the same one who administered the citizenship oath at the White House on Tuesday night.
Alas, this was just a political stunt
Don’t tell me swearing-in five while delaying the ceremony for more than 300,000 others isn’t a political tactic.
Of course it is.
The novel coronavirus pandemic is real but federal officials could still conduct virtual interviews and set up small naturalization ceremonies similar to the one conducted at the White House.
GOP out of touch: Trump's Republican convention portrays an America most Latinos don't recognize
But Trump knows that new U.S. citizens may not vote for him because of his incessant attacks on them and because of his administration’s hardline policies against foreigners.
Five new potential voters won’t make much of a difference but hundreds of thousands might. What better way to keep them from the polls than delaying their U.S. citizenship?
Elvia Díaz is an editorial columnist for The Republic and azcentral, where this column originally appeared. Follow her on Twitter: @elviadiaz1
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: RNC: Trump naturalized five immigrants. There are 315,000 more waiting.
