Fazia Rizvi
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faziarizvi.bsky.social
Fazia Rizvi
@faziarizvi.bsky.social
Writer, actor, weaver, spinner. Web dev higher Ed. Star Trek fan.
Pinned
Gonna remind the whole of Bluesky, again, that journalistic norms of saying “Texas is doing this” and “Texas is doing that”, (when it’s the TX GOP only) cedes an entire population to white supremacy and erases the opposition that also represents Texas and the Texans that would be victimized.
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara issued a stern warning to his officers on Thursday: Intervene when you see Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents using unlawful force or lose your job.
Minneapolis police chief warns officers: Stop unlawful force by ICE or lose your job
Chief Brian O’Hara says he’ll fire city police officers if they don’t intervene when immigration agents use unlawful force.
www.ms.now
December 6, 2025 at 7:05 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
The people don’t fucking want ICE there. They want their immigrant neighbors there.
In South Minneapolis, Minnesota, nearly two dozen neighbors confronted and surrounded ICE goons after rapid-response alerts were issued. The goons were questioning an East African man when the situation escalated, and they eventually left the area without making any arrests.
December 6, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
Fun Fact: Before I became an executive search consultant, I was an immigration lawyer in Chicago. I represented Ozzie Guillen & his family in obtaining their U.S. citizenship the year the White Sox won the World Series. Here we are at the naturalization ceremony

@lizzslockeroom.bsky.social
#LawSky
November 26, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
This is complete and utter bullshit. These individuals have been tested, vetted, and approved. They deserve the ceremony which is the literal last step to gain citizenship. Faneuil Hall has had these ceremonies almost non-stop for decades including through actual war.

www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...
Immigrants kept from Faneuil Hall citizenship ceremony as feds crackdown nationwide
Trump administration is pausing naturalizations for immigrants from 19 countries.
www.wgbh.org
December 6, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
This is so fucked.
It means they already studied for and passed their citizenship test (which I guarantee most Americans would fail). They were just waiting for the ceremony to make it official.
South Floridians from Cuba, Haiti and Venezuela expecting to become U.S. citizens this week learned instead that their naturalization ceremonies had been canceled after the Trump administration issued a sweeping directive aimed at halting immigration from so-called high-risk countries.
South Florida immigrants on cusp of citizenship told to wait as DHS changes policy
The cancellations, confirmed by multiple immigration attorneys, came after the Trump administration paused immigration from 19 nations and froze all asylum claims.
www.miamiherald.com
December 4, 2025 at 2:23 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
This includes people who have paid the fee, been vetted several times, passed the citizenship test and are just waiting for the ceremony.

www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/tru...
U.S. halts all immigration cases — including citizenship ceremonies — for nationals of 19 countries, internal guidance says
The Trump administration has halted all immigration applications filed by people from 19 countries, according to internal government guidance, its latest move to restrict legal immigration pathways.
www.cbsnews.com
December 3, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
This is more than evil because you have to surrender whatever legal status you held BEFORE the oath ceremony.
You pass the citizenship test and surrender your document (i.e. green card) and only AFTER the oath ceremony (usually a couple of weeks after your test/interview) you become a citizen.
December 6, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
This article is heartbreaking.
December 7, 2025 at 1:26 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
Needless to say, this has nothing to do with vetting & everything to do with making life difficult.
Today, USCIS announced that EADs connected to asylum, green card apps & certain other applications will be limited to 18 months validity (rather than 5 years). This, together with their ending of auto-extensions, will cause huge disruptions for employers and employees. www.uscis.gov/newsroom/new...
USCIS Increases Screening, Vetting of Aliens Working in U.S. | USCIS
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services updated its Policy Manual to reduce the maximum validity period for Employment Authorization Documents (EAD) for certain categories of aliens.
www.uscis.gov
December 4, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
“I really believe that if I didn’t have [my] birth certificate, I would be somewhere in a facility,” one resident said, recalling that one of the armed federal agents who stopped him on the street aggressively asked if he was from Ethiopia or Ghana.

With @mlk50.com
“I Don’t Feel Safe”: Black Memphis Residents Report Harassment by Trump’s Police Task Force
A pastor was pulled over for looking lost. A 72-year-old was marched out in his bathrobe due to mistaken identity. Memphis’ mayor welcomed the federal law enforcement surge, but some residents say the...
www.propublica.org
December 5, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
Our office has clients caught up in this. Hearing from colleagues nationwide about people having their naturalization oath ceremonies canceled. Some of the affected people aren't even subject to the travel ban due to other acquired citizenship, but they are still being caught up.
The Trump admin has paused all immigration and naturalization processes for people from one of the 19 travel ban countries; including Cuba and Venezuela.

Even people who fully passed the citizenship exam are having their cases put on hold, just inches from the finish line.
Scoop: The Trump administration has paused all immigration applications filed by people from 19 countries banned from travel to the United States earlier this year, halting green card and U.S. citizenship processing for broad swaths of people.

More coming soon.
December 2, 2025 at 9:42 PM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
If you or a loved one has gone through it, you know how many years, how much paperwork, how much money, and how much stress goes into arriving at your citizenship ceremony. This is so pointedly racist and cruel.
“She showed up as scheduled, and when she arrived, officers were asking everyone what country they were from, and if they said a certain country, they were told to step out of line and that their oath ceremonies were canceled.”

www.wgbh.org/news/local/2... @gbhnews.bsky.social
Immigrants kept from Faneuil Hall citizenship ceremony as feds crackdown nationwide
Trump administration is pausing naturalizations for immigrants from 19 countries.
www.wgbh.org
December 6, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
Sincerely, if I was a Dem executive and had an idea this was going to happen, I’d deploy armed officers to bar any intruders from the citizenship ceremony until it was complete. A sacred space and a sacred obligation, and letting fascist goons pick people off at the front door is an abomination
“She showed up as scheduled, and when she arrived, officers were asking everyone what country they were from, and if they said a certain country, they were told to step out of line and that their oath ceremonies were canceled.”

www.wgbh.org/news/local/2... @gbhnews.bsky.social
Immigrants kept from Faneuil Hall citizenship ceremony as feds crackdown nationwide
Trump administration is pausing naturalizations for immigrants from 19 countries.
www.wgbh.org
December 6, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
it's been a while since my citizenship ceremony, but I remember how relieved I was to receive a date and time. swiping that out from under someone at the last minute is extremely cruel.
December 6, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
My cousin had her naturalization ceremony at Faneuil Hall nine years ago and it was one of the highlights of her adult life. The cruelty this administration demonstrates is reprehensible. These people completed the requirements, they should have their ceremony and citizenship granted.
December 7, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
Faneuil Hall was one of the birthplaces of America. This is so wrong.
December 6, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
I am angry in a way that is probably unhealthy about this happening at all BUT ESPECIALLY angry that this happens at Faneuil Hall, which to me is a place that is supposed to represent the best of American life www.wgbh.org/news/local/2...
Immigrants kept from Faneuil Hall citizenship ceremony as feds crackdown nationwide
Trump administration is pausing naturalizations for immigrants from 19 countries.
www.wgbh.org
December 7, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
This genuinely feels blasphemous to me.

To become a citizen is one of the sacred rites of our country, and Faneuil Hall is an ancient and venerated shrine, near three centuries old. The symbolism here is nothing less than profane.
December 6, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
This makes me furious and sad beyond words. I’ve been fortunate to witness naturalization ceremonies at Faneuil Hall and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and I’ll never forget them. Their oath, their pride in their new home, made me proud to be an American. Tonight I’ll cry different tears.
“She showed up as scheduled, and when she arrived, officers were asking everyone what country they were from, and if they said a certain country, they were told to step out of line and that their oath ceremonies were canceled.”

www.wgbh.org/news/local/2... @gbhnews.bsky.social
Immigrants kept from Faneuil Hall citizenship ceremony as feds crackdown nationwide
Trump administration is pausing naturalizations for immigrants from 19 countries.
www.wgbh.org
December 6, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
In Massachusetts and across the country, the Trump admin is turning the pursuit of the American Dream into an American Nightmare. This is wrong, this is immoral, and this is exactly why we must continue to fight back against Trump’s racist anti-immigrant agenda.
December 7, 2025 at 3:28 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
Faneuil Hall really is one of the special places in America, a symbol of freedom and what America had stood for.

This is so upsetting.
December 7, 2025 at 12:27 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
December 7, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
When you think that you have heard the worst, you find out something worse.
December 7, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
Yay!
December 6, 2025 at 4:05 PM
Reposted by Fazia Rizvi
ICE detained a US citizen who was originally from Somalia.

They grabbed her because they didn’t like her hijab.

She says they sexually assaulted her and said things like “what are you hiding under your hijab”

She was held for 24 hours.

A US citizen. No one is safe.
December 6, 2025 at 9:16 PM