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Drive-up US Citizenship Eases Backlog, But New Threat Looms

Associated Press

   DETROIT - A 60-year-old U.K. citizen drove into a Detroit parking
   garage on a recent afternoon, lowered the window of her SUV to swear an
   oath, and left as a newly minted American.

   It took less than 30 minutes.

   Anita Rosenberger is among thousands of people around the country who
   have taken the final step to citizenship this month under COVID-19
   social-distancing rules that have turned what has long been a patriotic
   rite of passage into something more like a visit to a fast-food
   restaurant.

   "It was a nice experience in spite of the fact that I was in the car by
   myself with a mask on," said Rosenberger, a sales manager for an
   electronics component company from suburban Detroit. "And I will say
   that I will remember this."

   Similar drive-thru ceremonies are being held around the country, but
   perhaps for not much longer. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
   says a budget crisis could force the agency to furlough nearly
   three-quarters of its workforce, severely curtailing operations as tens
   of thousands of people wait to become citizens.

   That could have potential political consequences, especially in states
   such as Michigan and Florida where the number of newly naturalized
   Americans already exceeds the narrow margin of victory for President
   Donald Trump in 2016.

   "I wouldn't be surprised if you have several hundred thousand people
   who are not in a position to vote in this election but would have been
   if business had been progressing normally at USCIS," said Randy Capps
   of the Migration Policy Institute. "That's been everyone's concern."

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