{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Radio Chatskill","title":"Ulster County Naturalization Ceremony Canceled; Local Leaders Demand Answers","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/60a1dff6\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":713,"description":"Ulster County’s Dec. 12 naturalization ceremony has been abruptly canceled by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, one of several ceremonies scrapped across the Hudson Valley this month. USCIS says there were not enough candidates to move forward, but local officials argue the decision is arbitrary, poorly communicated and harmful to residents awaiting the final step toward citizenship.Ulster County Clerk Taylor Bruck, who has been calling for the federal government to reinstate the ceremony, said he first learned of the cancellation about three weeks ago — part of a wider move by USCIS to suspend upstate ceremonies.“They originally canceled them — not just ours, but all upstate ceremonies — about three weeks ago,” Bruck said. “They reached out and just said that the December ceremonies were going to be canceled and that there would be no more ceremonies going forward indefinitely.”USCIS first claimed county courts did not meet statutory requirements, he said, even though counties have long met those standards. “We pushed back on that, citing the fact that we do, in fact, meet the statutory requirements — the requirements being a seal and a court clerk with local jurisdiction, all things that we’ve had for centuries here in our local courts,” he said. “So they rescinded the cancellations at that time.”But early last week, the agency again scrapped ceremonies — this time saying there were not enough candidates to naturalize. “This is the first time we've ever heard that there wasn’t enough citizens to be naturalized,” Bruck said. “We typically would just do a smaller ceremony if there wasn’t as many as they expected.”Bruck said there is no legal minimum for how many candidates must participate. “It seems to be an internal policy from USCIS,” he said. Rep. Pat Ryan has since written to the agency seeking clarification on the alleged quota.The latest cancellation was delivered by email, Bruck said, after the county asked for its December list of candidates....","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/q7XXsnSXT_u4mZLCn3chUorwDmUD_kWiB272D6emB18/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80N2Uy/OGY5MWUwZThkYTEw/NDVkZGM2ZGZkZDIw/ZjliOS5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}