'Cruel And Unfair': Salem's House Of The Seven Gables Trustees Decry Citizenship Denials

SALEM, MA — Members of the House of the Seven Gables Board of Trustees and Settlement Association, which help operate the historic Salem site as well as offer citizenship preparedness courses as part of their mission, decried the recent actions of federal immigration officers who pulled perspective citizens out of a final naturalization ceremony in Boston because of their county of origin.

According to media reports, the citizen candidates had completed all of their requirements for naturalization before they were to take their oath at a Faneuil Hall ceremony last week.

Yet, they were denied taking part in the ceremony because of recently enacted Trump Administration rules barring immigrants from 19 "high-risk" countries from coming to American and moving forward toward citizenship in the wake of the shooting death of two National Guard members in November.

"The naturalization ceremony is the final step in a long journey," the House of the Seven Gables trustees said in a statement. "We host a ceremony similar to those at Faneuil Hall at our historic site in Salem every year. It is an emotionally moving occasion. New citizens are joined by family and friends to celebrate the culmination of years of hard work, and the opening of a new chapter in their lives.

"To steal this moment away from anyone, as a 'punishment' for actions they had no part in, is cruel and unfair."

The statement said that discrimination against anyone based solely on their country of origin "undermines the values and promise of opportunity that define our nation."

The statement said those who reach that level of pending citizenship — including House of the Seven Gables students — are legal, permanent residents of the United States who have spent months studying for their citizenship exam and interview, and often paid hundreds or thousands of dollars to advance in the citizenship process.

"We urge our neighbors and our elected leaders to speak forcefully in support of the worthy individuals who seek to become United States citizens, and against the unjust policies blocking their path of completing that goal," the statement said.