In an attempt to showcase his support for legal immigration, United States President Donald Trump presided over a ceremony at the White House where five people were naturalised as US citizens on Tuesday, 25 August.
Calling out the ceremony, former US Presidential candidate and Democratic Party leader Hillary Clinton said that Trump has spent his “entire political career demonizing immigrants.” She added that the ceremony was like watch a “fox bless a henhouse.”
Clinton was not the only one. People from various walks of life took to Twitter to point that Trump separated hundreds of immigrant children from their families.
‘Unprecedented Abuse of Power’
Calling the ceremony an “unprecedented abuse of power”, people on Twitter also wondered how Republicans would have reacted had Obama held such an event.
Indian Among Those ‘Naturalised’
Dressed in a saree, Indian software engineer Sudha Sundari Narayanan was one of the five at the unusual ceremony. The others were from Bolivia, Lebanon, Ghana, and Sudan.
This citizenship ceremony at the White House coincided with the second day of the Republican National Convention.
Why is This Significant?
In a presidential election where South Asian American identity is becoming increasingly highlighted, this may be argued to be a key move by the Trump administration in a bid for re-election.
“You follow the rules, you obey the laws, you learned our history, embraced our values and proved yourselves to be men and women of the highest integrity.”Donald Trump, US President
“It’s not so easy. You’ve been through a lot,” to get the citizenship, a “priceless possession in the world,” he added.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)