Part of Trump regime effort to make it harder to vote
By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current
For the past two years, Rhode Island League of Women Voters volunteers have helped over 1,700 new American citizens register to vote at weekly naturalization ceremonies at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office in Johnston.
You would think that newly naturalized citizens
would pass the Trump "proof of citizenship" test
“It’s a routine,” Christine Stenning, president of the Newport League of Women Voters, said in an interview Monday. “And it seems to work.”
But when volunteers arrived at the Johnston office the morning after Labor Day, they were told the Trump administration had ended their routine.
A new policy quietly enacted the Friday before the holiday weekend prohibits all nongovernmental groups from registering voters at naturalization ceremonies.
The new rule, issued Aug. 29 by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), leaves voter registration duties at naturalization ceremonies solely with state and local election officials.
“We didn’t know about it,” Stenning said. “This happened over that weekend — it’s almost as if this was intentional from the administration.”
In a two-page memo on the new policy, the USCIS wrote that the change was made as part of its aims to make administrative naturalization ceremonies “positive and memorable moments” in the lives of the participants.
“USCIS does not believe that aliens or nongovernmental organizations have any reliance interests related to representatives of nongovernmental organizations being present at naturalization ceremonies,” the memo states.
The agency claimed that use of nongovernmental organizations for voter registration at naturalization ceremonies was “sporadic and varied based upon the location” and that ensuring the groups are nonpartisan was an administrative “burden.”
A USCIS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on what those burdens entail.
The agency’s memo also states the change “in no way impacts new citizens’ access to information and applications to register to vote” because those materials will still be provided by local election officials or USCIS staff.
The state offers several ways for new residents to register — including automatic registration at the Division of Motor Vehicles, online and mail-in applications, or in person at local boards of canvassers. But not all new citizens may be aware of those options, said John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island.
“It’s unbelievable that they’ve decided they should kick the League of Women voters of all groups out of doing that,” he said in an interview.
Marion said as far as he was aware, only league volunteers have set up voter registration assistance at the Johnston USCIS office.
Stenning said keeping groups like hers out of naturalization ceremonies undermines democracy.
“This is a step toward stopping peoples’ voting rights,” she said. “This is not just going to hit Rhode Island, this is going to hit the entire United States.”
Secretary of State Gregg Amore too was disappointed by the Trump administration’s decision, chief of staff LeeAnn Byrne said in an email.
“The Rhode Island League of Women Voters have been excellent partners in registering new voters, both at naturalization ceremonies and other events,” Byrne wrote.
It’s unbelievable that they’ve decided they should kick the League of Women voters of all groups out of doing that.
– John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island
Naturalization ceremonies are typically held weekly at the USCIS’s Johnston office and monthly at the federal courthouse in downtown Providence. They’ve also happened at the Roger Williams National Memorial, half a mile up the road from the courthouse.
On average, 100 new citizens and their family members attend naturalization ceremonies at the Providence park, said Park Ranger Kevin Klyberg. So far, he said, park rangers have not received any guidance on who is allowed to attend.
“It’s everyone’s park,” he said. “So anyone who wants to come by can come on by.”
Ceremonies themselves typically last an hour and are public events at which individuals who have undergone the process of becoming citizens take their oath of allegiance and typically could then apply for their U.S. passport and register to vote, Marcela Betancur, executive director of the Latino Policy Institute in Providence said in an interview.
Betancur said she was very concerned that the new federal rule creates a barrier to the ballot for new Rhode Islanders.
“If as a country we want to ensure that individuals are here and American citizens, then why wouldn’t we want them to be registered to vote?” she said.
The state offers several ways for new residents to register — including automatic registration at the Division of Motor Vehicles, online and mail-in applications, or in person at local boards of canvassers. But not all new citizens may be aware of those options, Marion said.
Byrne said the Secretary of State’s office is in communication with the Rhode Island Board of Elections and the Johnston Board of Canvassers to ensure new citizens know where to register to vote following their ceremony at the Atwood Avenue location.
“But, Secretary Amore hopes the Trump Administration will reverse its decision and allow trusted nonpartisan organizations to resume offering this service,” Byrne added.
Stenning said she hoped to see solutions as soon as possible. One idea she floated was having the Secretary of State’s office deputize league volunteers as official election workers.
Byrne said the office has not considered the idea as of Monday, adding doing so may be complicated as there are strict definitions for election workers, who generally are employed full time by the state or as poll workers.
“I don’t know if we could say that off the top of our heads, but that’s an interesting idea,” she said.
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