United States of America-based Nigerian professor, Sunday Goshit and his wife, Regina, who sued the President Donald Trump’s administration after their naturalisation oath-taking ceremony was abruptly cancelled, are now Americans.
The Peoples Gazette had in April reported that Mr Goshit, who arrived in the United States from Nigeria in 2000, and his wife were meant to take their oaths of allegiance, the final step of naturalisation process, in January, when the ceremony was called off just weeks before the event with no apparent reason.
The decision prompted the couple to file a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration in April, while communities in Iowa, where Mr Goshit is currently an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of International Studies at the University of Iowa, organised demonstrations in support of the couple.
However, Mr Goshit and his wife are now United States citizens after taking their oaths of allegiance on Wednesday in front of family members and friends following the decision by Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to reverse the initial cancellation of the couple’s ceremony.
Local outlet Little Village reported that shortly after filing the lawsuit, the couple received an email from the USCIS in May, with information that the naturalisation process was moving forward. Before long, they got an email scheduling that their citizenship ceremony was now scheduled for June 10 in Des Moines, Iowa.
“It’s 25 years of waiting; 25 years of being in this country. And I’ve been involved in the community a lot. I’ve never felt like I’m not part of the American community. But now it’s completely different,” Mr Goshit, described as a ‘longtime leader’ in his community in Iowa, told Canadian news outlet the Gazette.
“I’ve met every requirement, I’ve checked every box, I’ve contributed my expertise, my character and a legacy of educated, hardworking citizens to the state of Iowa. To halt the naturalization of a prepared, qualified and vetted resident of 25 years is a suppression of the very due process this country prides itself on,” the professor said during a press conference in April.
The couple had received the initial cancellation notice just two days after Mr Trump signed a proclamation in December last year, ordering the USCIS to continue processing work permit, green card and citizenship applications but must delay making a final decision indefinitely.
The policies were imposed on nationals from 39 countries, including Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Chief U.S. District Judge John McConnell in Providence, Rhode Island, on June 5, struck down the proclamation, accusing Mr Trump of making the decision without statutory and regulatory authority.
