Boston's Citizenship Day will look different this year
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Boston officials plan to ramp up security for its Citizenship Day event Saturday to limit the chances of immigration agents showing up unannounced.
Why it matters: The changes aim to ensure immigrants eligible to apply for citizenship can safely take part in the event without fear of being detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, says Monique Nguyen, chief of the city's office for immigrant advancement.
State of play: Boston's 11th annual Citizenship Day event at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center will go private this year, with only listed participants allowed to enter the building.
- Project Citizenship and other vendors will return to help eligible immigrants submit citizenship applications.
- They will also have resources about how to enroll in classes to learn English or prepare for the citizenship exam.
- Other vendors include St. Mark's School, English for New Bostonians and the Immigrant Family Services Institute, per Nguyen's office.
What they're saying: "What's beautiful about it is they put everything into one day to make it easy for people to file, get their paperwork together," Nguyen tells Axios.
- "It gets a really hard step over in one day."
The big picture: This year's events come as the Trump administration has questioned East Boston business owners, detained international students and hauled off undocumented immigrants without criminal records alongside alleged gang members.
By the numbers: Nearly 24,000 people became citizens in Massachusetts in fiscal 2024, the most recent USCIS data available.
- The city estimates that some 220,000 lawful permanent residents in Massachusetts were eligible to become U.S. citizens but didn't do so as of January 2023.
- Nguyen estimates some 300 Boston-area residents will attend Saturday's festivities.
Many immigrants across the U.S. spend decades in the country without applying for citizenship.
- Some fear they would lose pensions and benefits by renouncing their original citizenship, a process involved with some countries that don't recognize dual citizenship.
- Others say they don't feel confident in passing an English-language citizenship exam.
Project Citizenship's team helps residents determine if their home countries' policies have changed or if they could pass the test through English classes or a waiver to take an exam in their home language, Nguyen says.
Yes, but: The biggest hurdle this year may be the chilling effect throughout immigrant communities as the Trump administration orders a ramp-up in deportations.
- The city may allow walk-in appointments for attendees who show their green card at the door, but walk-ins are not guaranteed, per Nguyen's office.
- Project Citizenship plans to follow up with people who express interest but can't get walk-in appointments Saturday.