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Washington (December 18, 2025) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today introduced the Naturalization and Oath Ceremony Protection Act, legislation that would amend the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 to ensure that individuals who have gone through the naturalization process and received approval to become U.S. citizens are not denied their naturalization ceremony and oath-taking. This legislation is endorsed by Project Citizenship.

The Naturalization and Oath Ceremony Protection Act responds to the Trump administration's latest anti-immigrant attacks. Two weeks ago, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) abruptly canceled all naturalization and oath ceremonies for citizenship applicants from 19 so-called high-risk countries, including preventing four immigrants who had gone through all but the final step of the naturalization process from attending their naturalization ceremony at Faneuil Hall in Boston.

"Becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen is not easy and involves an application, background checks, passing English and civics tests, and an interview," said Senator Markey. "For those who get over those high hurdles, the naturalization and oath-taking ceremony represents an enormous achievement and the final step in the path to making America their home. The Trump administration has no right to deny it to those who have followed the rules, done the work, and been approved for citizenship. My Naturalization and Oath Ceremony Protection Act ensures that those who earned the right to this meaningful milestone cannot have it arbitrarily taken away from them."

"I am grateful for Senator Markey's leadership and proud to support the Naturalization and Oath Ceremony Protection Act," said Gail Breslow, Executive Director of Project Citizenship. "No applicant for naturalization should be prevented from taking the oath of allegiance because of their nationality. This legislation will ensure that immigrants who have been thoroughly vetted and approved for U.S. citizenship are able to naturalize without delay, irrespective of their place of birth."

Specifically, the Naturalization and Oath Ceremony Protection Act would:

1. Guarantee that individuals who have been approved for naturalization have a statutory right to complete the naturalization process through the oath ceremony;
2. Prohibit last-minute, categorical, or nationality-based exclusions from naturalization ceremonies;
3. Require individualized findings, written notice, and minimal due process before any post-approval interruption of naturalization; and
4. Ensure uniform national standards governing the final stages of U.S. citizenship.

Senator Markey continues his efforts to hold the Trump administration accountable for its illegal violations of people's constitutional rights, and gross weaponization of immigration and customs enforcement.

• On December 17, Senator Markey wrote to the Boston Acting Field Office Director following his inspection of the Burlington ICE facility, to demand answers about the treatment of people detained in the ICE field office in Burlington, Massachusetts, and the aggressive enforcement tactics ICE has employed in immigrant communities.
• On December 12, after his visit to the Burlington ICE facility, Senator Markey held a press conference with immigrant rights leaders at Faneuil Hall to denounce Donald Trump's racist and xenophobic immigration policies and provide more details on his ongoing oversight work.
• On November 24, Senator Markey wrote to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney S. Scott, urging the agency to immediately cease using a system of license plate readers and predictive algorithms to monitor the movements of individual Americans. CBP is reportedly using the system to "identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious."
• On November 3, Senator Markey wrote to Acting Director of ICE Todd Lyons, requesting ICE to cease the use of their biometric phone application Mobile Fortify after receiving no response to his September 11 letter.
• On April 22, Senator Markey and Representatives Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) and Jim McGovern (MA-02), along with Representative Bennie Thompson (MS-02), Ranking Member of House Committee on Homeland Security, and Representative Troy Carter (LA-02) visited the Louisiana ICE facility where Tufts University student Rümeysa Öztürk was being held, as well as another ICE facility holding Columbia University student Mahmoud Khalil.

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