- - Dozens denied oath of allegiance at Indianapolis naturalization ceremony

Ryan Murphy, Indianapolis Star December 10, 2025 at 10:20 PM

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As people made their way into the Indianapolis Union Station for a naturalization ceremony, federal officials stopped certain applicants and told them that they wouldn't be leaving the building with U.S. citizenship.

The immigrants — who had already passed every step in the long naturalization process — needed only to take the oath of allegiance Dec. 9, 2025, to become citizens. A federal directive handed down by U.S. Immigration and Customs Services on Dec. 2, however, made that impossible for more than one third of people signed up for the Indianapolis ceremony.

Zhibo Zhao, a US Citizenship and Immigration Services official present at the event, said oaths of allegiance for 38 of the 100 participants were "canceled."

Though travel bans and restrictions have been in place for 19 countries since June, US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced last week that the agency would immediately halt applications and asylum claims of people from all countries on the list: Afghanistan, Burundi, Chad, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Myanmar, the Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Turkmenistan, Venezuela and Yemen. The Trump administration deemed the countries "high risk" earlier this year.

Zhao said the 38 people were notified two weeks ago that their citizenship ceremonies had been "canceled," though the agency didn't announce plans to pause certain citizenship applications until Dec. 2.

Zhao doesn't know if these people now face deportation. When asked if their naturalization oaths would be rescheduled, he said "that is up to whoever's in charge in Washington."

"We just receive orders from the chain of command," Zhao said. "I was in the military. Everything we do here in the federal government is just like in the military. Follow the chain of command and so on."

Sixty-two people became citizens at the Dec. 9 ceremony, Zhao said.

Marion County Clerk Kate Sweeney Bell, whose office attends naturalization ceremonies to register new voters, issued a statement condemning the remaining applicants' dismissals.

"These prospective citizens worked incredibly hard to reach this milestone. They studied our history, learned our laws, and demonstrated their commitment to our country," Sweeney Bell wrote. "They arrived with their families, filled with pride and excitement, ready to take the oath of citizenship—only to have their dreams denied at the last minute by a racist policy from the federal government."

In an interview with FOX News' Laura Ingraham on Dec. 4, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the U.S. may expand travel restrictions to "over 30" countries. An internal state department cable obtained by the Washington Post in June showed the administration was weighing banning immigration from 36 countries.

Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at [email protected].

Noe Padilla contributed reporting to this article.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Dozens ready to take US oath denied final step to citizenship in Indianapolis

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