By Dee Anne Finken, Local News & Democracy and Communications Portfollio Director, LWV Washington

Are new citizens getting the help they need to register?

Washington state and U.S. League leadership adamantly opposes the new federal ban announced last month that prohibits nonprofit organizations from registering naturalized citizens to vote under certain circumstances.

The prohibition issued late last month shuts the door for League members who have helped with the registration process for decades.

This development also raises questions about whether new citizens are being provided the tools they need to register to vote.

Providing voter registration forms has been a required step in the ceremonies. 

However, Spokane League member Sally Phillips, who has registered new citizens at naturalization ceremonies for at least 10 years, attended a ceremony Friday and confirmed voter registration forms were not included in the packet given to the new citizens.

She previously received an email from an official from the Department of Homeland Security’s United States Citizenship and Immigration Services indicating that agency personnel will simply direct participants to approved government websites or facilities.

The announcement from USCIS, issued Aug. 29, prohibits nongovernmental organizations and agencies from participating in ceremonies conducted by USCIS personnel.

“USCIS aims to make administrative naturalization ceremonies positive and memorable moments in the lives of the participants,” the memo read. Going forward, that means only state or local election officials or USCIS staff will offer voter registration at the close of the ceremonies.

News outlets across the country have picked up LWVUS CEO Celina Stewart’s statement calling the move "an attempt to keep new citizens from accessing their full rights."

Stewart noted: "For decades, the League of Women Voters has been a trusted partner of both USCIS and federal courts to register new voters at naturalization ceremonies. This work has resulted in hundreds of thousands of new citizens registering to vote with League volunteers across the country."

Susan Martin, League president in San Juan County and a national expert on immigration, explained that USCIS and its predecessor, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, were authorized to administer the oath of allegiance to the United States in 1990, with the policy going into effect the following year. The move was designed to ease the backlog in the courts, which was leading to delays in naturalization ceremonies, she said.

But Martin explained many judges consider overseeing naturalization ceremonies one of the most joyful aspects of their work.  That, she said, is why judges retained their ability to invoke exclusive authority to administer the oath to persons residing within their jurisdiction.

Consequently, not all League members in Washington will lose the opportunity to register some newly naturalized citizens.

East of the Cascades, in counties of the United States Eastern District Court district, federal judges who conduct naturalization ceremonies continue to welcome League assistance, said Phillips of Spokane.

Phillips said about three dozen Spokane League members currently assist with registration duties in the federal courthouses.

All of the ceremonies presided over by the judges are touching, but some are even more so, she said.

“I remember the magistrate judge who first invited the League to help. He was talking to the new candidates for citizenship and he emphasized they could participate as citizens in a number of ways, including by voting and helping candidates run for office.

“He emphasized the richness of our country comes from the backgrounds these new citizens bring and their cultures.  And how they should hold onto their culture because they enrich our country that way.”

Phillips said last week that federal immigration officials told her by email, effective the end of September, that the League would no longer be notified of upcoming naturalization ceremonies officiated by USCIS staff.

However, the dates may be posted by the court. If so, League members in Spokane will continue to be present at the courthouse to answer questions and provide voter registration forms following the ceremony.

Barb Tengtio, president in Seattle King County League and who oversees voter registration there, said the USCIS Aug. 29 memo was short – but not necessarily sweet – and to the point.

“Basically, they told us, ‘Thanks very much. But we no longer need the League’s services,’” Tengtio said.

At the USCIS facility in King County, in a mammoth building in Tukwila, League members were registering about 850 new citizens a year, averaging two to four days a month, said Tengtio.

Nancy Iannucci, a Seattle member who has been registering new voters since 2018, described the joy of registered newly naturalized citizens.

“It is such a heart-warming ceremony,” she said. “It’s the end of their journey trying to become citizens but also the beginning of their journey as new citizens.”

Seattle League member Mary Figel, who has registered newly naturalized citizens alongside of Iannucci, agrees. “It is so thrilling to hear where these people are from, what they weren’t able to do.”

Receiving the right to vote is a powerful reminder of the responsibility and privilege that comes with citizenship. There is no better way to welcome a new citizen. The League will fight to make sure this right is given as required.