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Mark Wyner Won’t Comply :vm: and 1 other boosted
Mariya Delano
@mariyadelano@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week

I became a US citizen yesterday!

4 years in the making, a dream for much longer than that. I was fortunate to have one of the fastest routes to citizenship and to have mostly experienced a very smooth process with lovely immigration agents who processed my cases with respect and dignity.

I spent the last 9 months living in fear, watching immigrants get demonized and even permanent residency (green cards) to be treated as “a privilege” to be revoked at whim.

I've been quiet, afraid to say anything in public that could be misinterpreted or used against me.

I've repeatedly said goodbye to my city, I've cried walking my favorite streets, bracing for the worst as top officials bragged about getting rid of immigrants and "cleaning up" the country as if we were filth.

Now, I intend to find ways to use my citizenship for the greater good and to be civically engaged in ways not available to people here on visas and green cards, affected but forced to suffer in silence. I am looking forward to discovering what that will look like for me.

#USA #citizenship #immigration #immigrants

1/2 (A mini-thread)

Photo of Mariya Delano waving a small American flag in front of the US immigration building in NYC where she became a citizen. Mariya looks very happy as she watches the flag in her hand. She's wearing a red dress with black leggings and a black blazer.
Photo of Mariya Delano waving a small American flag in front of the US immigration building in NYC where she became a citizen. Mariya looks very happy as she watches the flag in her hand. She's wearing a red dress with black leggings and a black blazer.
Photo of Mariya Delano waving a small American flag in front of the US immigration building in NYC where she became a citizen. Mariya looks very happy as she watches the flag in her hand. She's wearing a red dress with black leggings and a black blazer.
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The Japan Times
@thejapantimes@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp last week

I’d love dual citizenship, but the reality is that permanent residency just isn’t enough for this naturalized Japanese citizen. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/commentary/2025/10/17/japan/choosing-japanese-citizenship/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #commentary #japan #visas #immigration #expats #foreignworkers #immigrationservicesagency #immigrationbureau #citizenship

The Japan Times

Why I chose Japanese citizenship over permanent residency

It may be adequate for some residents’ purposes, but when the chips are down, many will be shocked at just how few protections it offers.
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Alex Akselrod boosted
Mariya Delano
@mariyadelano@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week

2/2 Reflection on #citizenship:

I do not treat the concept of “ #democracy" lightly. I was born into the aftermath of centuries of totalitarian oppression that ended suddenly, leaving the nascent Ukrainian state of the late 90s and early 2000s floundering in the turbulent whirlpool of hopes and fears felt by millions of people who were finally allowed to ponder: how to build a free democratic state in the place of Soviet and imperial ruins?

I was taught the words "democracy", "citizen", "freedom", "voting", “liberty" (and more) by people who, less than two decades prior, weren't allowed to leave the borders of their country. I was told about self-determination by people whose political choices were ridiculed, punished, and eviscerated form most of their lives. The duty of governing ourselves felt to us ephemeral - a nice fantasy, akin to a fairytale or a utopia from fictional works.

And then I saw those same people fight with their bodies and souls once the previously unfathomable democracy was threatened. Protests in 2004, then again in 2014, then the unthinkable war against foreign invasion in 2022. Democracy no longer felt abstract or silly. It became as tangible as saying "I love you".

I write of Ukraine as I reflect on becoming a citizen of another country because the history and values of my adopted United States feel as real as the skin on my legs, the significance of its legacy lays as heavy as the weight of my waist-long hair, and the desire to uphold the freedoms of its Constitution burns my throat as harshly as dehydration after a long day in the sun.

People have asked me why I even want to join this country, when the present moment is shrouded in impenetrable darkness. And I answer: because I've felt the warmth of a newly lit fire of freedom breaking through shadows that for centuries looked like solid walls. I have seen kindness, and solidarity heal the fear and hate of oppression. I've seen liberty emerge from nothing but the human soul.

I am not a religious person, but I have faith. Faith in the ideals at the foundation of the American project. Faint but powerful recognition that "we the people" now includes me.

I love #America. And I hope to keep loving my home for the rest of my life.

A photo of a typewritten page with the same text as this post. It also has a photo of a little American flag.
A photo of a typewritten page with the same text as this post. It also has a photo of a little American flag.
A photo of a typewritten page with the same text as this post. It also has a photo of a little American flag.
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Mariya Delano
@mariyadelano@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week

I became a US citizen yesterday!

4 years in the making, a dream for much longer than that. I was fortunate to have one of the fastest routes to citizenship and to have mostly experienced a very smooth process with lovely immigration agents who processed my cases with respect and dignity.

I spent the last 9 months living in fear, watching immigrants get demonized and even permanent residency (green cards) to be treated as “a privilege” to be revoked at whim.

I've been quiet, afraid to say anything in public that could be misinterpreted or used against me.

I've repeatedly said goodbye to my city, I've cried walking my favorite streets, bracing for the worst as top officials bragged about getting rid of immigrants and "cleaning up" the country as if we were filth.

Now, I intend to find ways to use my citizenship for the greater good and to be civically engaged in ways not available to people here on visas and green cards, affected but forced to suffer in silence. I am looking forward to discovering what that will look like for me.

#USA #citizenship #immigration #immigrants

1/2 (A mini-thread)

Photo of Mariya Delano waving a small American flag in front of the US immigration building in NYC where she became a citizen. Mariya looks very happy as she watches the flag in her hand. She's wearing a red dress with black leggings and a black blazer.
Photo of Mariya Delano waving a small American flag in front of the US immigration building in NYC where she became a citizen. Mariya looks very happy as she watches the flag in her hand. She's wearing a red dress with black leggings and a black blazer.
Photo of Mariya Delano waving a small American flag in front of the US immigration building in NYC where she became a citizen. Mariya looks very happy as she watches the flag in her hand. She's wearing a red dress with black leggings and a black blazer.
Mariya Delano
@mariyadelano@hachyderm.io replied  ·  activity timestamp last week

2/2 Reflection on #citizenship:

I do not treat the concept of “ #democracy" lightly. I was born into the aftermath of centuries of totalitarian oppression that ended suddenly, leaving the nascent Ukrainian state of the late 90s and early 2000s floundering in the turbulent whirlpool of hopes and fears felt by millions of people who were finally allowed to ponder: how to build a free democratic state in the place of Soviet and imperial ruins?

I was taught the words "democracy", "citizen", "freedom", "voting", “liberty" (and more) by people who, less than two decades prior, weren't allowed to leave the borders of their country. I was told about self-determination by people whose political choices were ridiculed, punished, and eviscerated form most of their lives. The duty of governing ourselves felt to us ephemeral - a nice fantasy, akin to a fairytale or a utopia from fictional works.

And then I saw those same people fight with their bodies and souls once the previously unfathomable democracy was threatened. Protests in 2004, then again in 2014, then the unthinkable war against foreign invasion in 2022. Democracy no longer felt abstract or silly. It became as tangible as saying "I love you".

I write of Ukraine as I reflect on becoming a citizen of another country because the history and values of my adopted United States feel as real as the skin on my legs, the significance of its legacy lays as heavy as the weight of my waist-long hair, and the desire to uphold the freedoms of its Constitution burns my throat as harshly as dehydration after a long day in the sun.

People have asked me why I even want to join this country, when the present moment is shrouded in impenetrable darkness. And I answer: because I've felt the warmth of a newly lit fire of freedom breaking through shadows that for centuries looked like solid walls. I have seen kindness, and solidarity heal the fear and hate of oppression. I've seen liberty emerge from nothing but the human soul.

I am not a religious person, but I have faith. Faith in the ideals at the foundation of the American project. Faint but powerful recognition that "we the people" now includes me.

I love #America. And I hope to keep loving my home for the rest of my life.

A photo of a typewritten page with the same text as this post. It also has a photo of a little American flag.
A photo of a typewritten page with the same text as this post. It also has a photo of a little American flag.
A photo of a typewritten page with the same text as this post. It also has a photo of a little American flag.
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Mariya Delano
@mariyadelano@hachyderm.io  ·  activity timestamp last week

I became a US citizen yesterday!

4 years in the making, a dream for much longer than that. I was fortunate to have one of the fastest routes to citizenship and to have mostly experienced a very smooth process with lovely immigration agents who processed my cases with respect and dignity.

I spent the last 9 months living in fear, watching immigrants get demonized and even permanent residency (green cards) to be treated as “a privilege” to be revoked at whim.

I've been quiet, afraid to say anything in public that could be misinterpreted or used against me.

I've repeatedly said goodbye to my city, I've cried walking my favorite streets, bracing for the worst as top officials bragged about getting rid of immigrants and "cleaning up" the country as if we were filth.

Now, I intend to find ways to use my citizenship for the greater good and to be civically engaged in ways not available to people here on visas and green cards, affected but forced to suffer in silence. I am looking forward to discovering what that will look like for me.

#USA #citizenship #immigration #immigrants

1/2 (A mini-thread)

Photo of Mariya Delano waving a small American flag in front of the US immigration building in NYC where she became a citizen. Mariya looks very happy as she watches the flag in her hand. She's wearing a red dress with black leggings and a black blazer.
Photo of Mariya Delano waving a small American flag in front of the US immigration building in NYC where she became a citizen. Mariya looks very happy as she watches the flag in her hand. She's wearing a red dress with black leggings and a black blazer.
Photo of Mariya Delano waving a small American flag in front of the US immigration building in NYC where she became a citizen. Mariya looks very happy as she watches the flag in her hand. She's wearing a red dress with black leggings and a black blazer.
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Nonilex
@Nonilex@masto.ai  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago
#Federal labor #unions targeted in the EOs have repeatedly sued the #Trump admin, & in some cases forced the admin to temporarily pause Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal work force & reshape the government. The American Federation of Government Employees [#AFGE] has filed more than a dozen lawsuits related to the federal work force. The White House has likened this to a declaration of “war.”

#law #labor #unions

Nonilex
@Nonilex@masto.ai replied  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago

So far, 9 agencies have terminated #union contracts that covered >445k #FederalWorkers from the #EPA, US #CoastGuard, #FEMA, #GSA, the Departments of #HHS, #Agriculture & #VeteransAffairs, & parts of #ICE & #Citizenship & #Immigration Services.

“This is literally the largest act of union busting in American history,” said Mike Podhorzer, a former political director of the #AFLCIO. “There’s not another time when that many people lost their union.”

#law #labor #unions#Trump

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The Japan Times
@thejapantimes@mastodon.social  ·  activity timestamp 2 months ago

Jose Takei, an 82-year-old man of Japanese descent who became stateless after being left in the Philippines as a child following the end of World War II, is keen to get Japanese citizenship while he is in good health. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/15/japan/filipino-japanese-citizenship/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #philippines #wwii #foreignministry #shigeruishiba #citizenship #stateless

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Alex Akselrod boosted
Nonilex
@Nonilex@masto.ai  ·  activity timestamp 3 months ago

After #Kabul fell to the #Taliban in August 2021, President Joe #Biden’s admin moved to resettle #Afghans who had worked for the #US government through the Special Immigrant #Visa (#SIV) program, which grants lawful permanent resident status & a pathway to US #citizenship. As of April, about 25k Afghans had received an SIV, & another 160k had pending applications, said Adam Bates, an attorney with the International #Refugee Assistance Program who analyzed #State Dept data.

#immigration #law

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Nonilex
@Nonilex@masto.ai  ·  activity timestamp 3 months ago

As the admin seeks to fulfill #Trump’s pledge to carry out the largest #deportation op in #US history, attys for the men say their clients — #Afghans who fear retribution from the #Taliban for their work assisting the US in its 20-yr war in #Afghanistan — have found themselves in the crosshairs of #ICE. The attys provided WaPo with #military #contracts & certificates, #asylum & #visa applications, recommendation letters & other records that described both men’s work on behalf of #USmilitary….

Nonilex
@Nonilex@masto.ai replied  ·  activity timestamp 3 months ago

After #Kabul fell to the #Taliban in August 2021, President Joe #Biden’s admin moved to resettle #Afghans who had worked for the #US government through the Special Immigrant #Visa (#SIV) program, which grants lawful permanent resident status & a pathway to US #citizenship. As of April, about 25k Afghans had received an SIV, & another 160k had pending applications, said Adam Bates, an attorney with the International #Refugee Assistance Program who analyzed #State Dept data.

#immigration #law

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Nonilex
@Nonilex@masto.ai  ·  activity timestamp 3 months ago
#SCOTUS’ decision restricted the #power of lower-court judges to issue #NationwideInjunctions.

The states have argued #Trump’s #BirthrightCitizenship order is blatantly #unconstitutional & threatens millions of dollars for #HealthInsurance contingent on #citizenship. The issue is expected to move quickly back to SCOTUS.

#law#AbuseOfPower

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Alex Akselrod boosted
Bích-Mây Nguyễn :verified:
@bicmay@med-mastodon.com  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago

AP spent a day outside a LA detention center: "On a recent day, dozens of people arrived with medication, clothing and hope of seeing their loved one, if only briefly. After hours of waiting, many were turned away with no news, not even confirmation that their relative was inside. Some relayed reports of horrific conditions inside, including inmates who are so thirsty that they have been drinking from the toilets."

https://apnews.com/article/ice-immigration-raids-detainee-families-los-angeles-651d8bba4752553a67eb53db084677b2

#immigrant #immigration #detention #citizenship#ICE

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Bích-Mây Nguyễn :verified:
@bicmay@med-mastodon.com  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago

AP spent a day outside a LA detention center: "On a recent day, dozens of people arrived with medication, clothing and hope of seeing their loved one, if only briefly. After hours of waiting, many were turned away with no news, not even confirmation that their relative was inside. Some relayed reports of horrific conditions inside, including inmates who are so thirsty that they have been drinking from the toilets."

https://apnews.com/article/ice-immigration-raids-detainee-families-los-angeles-651d8bba4752553a67eb53db084677b2

#immigrant #immigration #detention #citizenship#ICE

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Nonilex
@Nonilex@masto.ai  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago

…Acc/to this new memo, the #DOJ is also expanding its criteria of which #crimes put individuals at risk of losing their #citizenship. That includes #NationalSecurity violations & committing acts of #fraud against individuals or against the government, like Paycheck Protection Program loan fraud or Medicaid or Medicare fraud.

#law #immigration#DueProcess#Constitution#14thAmendment

Nonilex
@Nonilex@masto.ai replied  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago

“To see that this admin is plotting out how they're going to expand its use in ways that we have not seen before is very shocking & very concerning,”said Sameera Hafiz, policy director of the Immigration Legal Resource Center, a national advocacy org providing legal training in #immigration #law.

“It is…in a way trying to create a second class of US citizens:”where one set of #Americans is safe & those not born in the country are still at risk of losing their hard-fought #citizenship, she said.

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Nonilex
@Nonilex@masto.ai  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago

🚨In #civil proceedings, any individual subject to #denaturalization is NOT entitled to an #attorney, Robertson said; there is also a lower #BurdenOfProof for the govt to reach, & it is far easier & faster to reach a conclusion in these cases.

Robertson says that stripping Americans of citizenship through civil litigation violates #DueProcess & infringes on the rights guaranteed by the #14thAmendment.

#law #immigration#Constitution

Nonilex
@Nonilex@masto.ai replied  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago

…Acc/to this new memo, the #DOJ is also expanding its criteria of which #crimes put individuals at risk of losing their #citizenship. That includes #NationalSecurity violations & committing acts of #fraud against individuals or against the government, like Paycheck Protection Program loan fraud or Medicaid or Medicare fraud.

#law #immigration#DueProcess#Constitution#14thAmendment

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Nonilex
@Nonilex@masto.ai  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago
#Denaturalization is a tactic that was heavily used during the #McCarthy era of the late 1940's & the early 1950's & one that was expanded during the #Obama admin & grew further during #Trump's first term. It's meant to strip #citizenship from those who may have lied about their #criminal convictions or membership in illegal groups like the #Nazi party, or #communists during #McCarthyism, on their citizenship applications.

#law #immigration

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Nonilex
@Nonilex@masto.ai  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago

The move is aimed at #US #citizens not born in the country;…close to 25M #immigrants [are] #naturalized citizens.

At least one person has already been denaturalized. On June 13, a judge ordered the revocation of Elliott Duke’s #citizenship, who uses they/them pronouns. Duke is an #American #military #veteran originally from the #UK who was convicted for distributing child sexual abuse material—something they later admitted they were doing prior to becoming a US citizen.

#law #immigration#DOJ

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Tim Chambers boosted
R. Scott Pert
@raymondpert@mastodon.cloud  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago

SCOTUS to rule today on 6 major cases:

Birthright citizenship – Are American Samoans citizens by birth?

Trump immunity – Are ex-presidents immune from prosecution?

Purdue Pharma – Can Sacklers be shielded in opioid deal?

Abortion – Must ERs provide emergency abortions?

Censorship – Did feds unlawfully pressure social media?

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rulings-birthright-citizenship-5-cases-final-day-rcna215246
#SupremeCourt#Trump#OpioidCrisis#AbortionRights#FreeSpeech#Citizenship#SCOTUS

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R. Scott Pert
@raymondpert@mastodon.cloud  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago

SCOTUS to rule today on 6 major cases:

Birthright citizenship – Are American Samoans citizens by birth?

Trump immunity – Are ex-presidents immune from prosecution?

Purdue Pharma – Can Sacklers be shielded in opioid deal?

Abortion – Must ERs provide emergency abortions?

Censorship – Did feds unlawfully pressure social media?

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-rulings-birthright-citizenship-5-cases-final-day-rcna215246
#SupremeCourt#Trump#OpioidCrisis#AbortionRights#FreeSpeech#Citizenship#SCOTUS

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Jochen Diekenbrock
@diekenbrock@digitalcourage.social  ·  activity timestamp 4 months ago
@ChrisMayLA6 there is also #citizenship-based taxation, which I think is worth to think about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_taxation
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