After a prolonged closure lasting 12 days, the office of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) in downtown Los Angeles reopened on June 25th. Many immigrants expressed that the riots in Los Angeles had disrupted their scheduled appointments, which they deemed unfair for those following legal procedures.
The city of Los Angeles erupted in violence against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) starting on June 6th, with reports of protesters attacking law enforcement, damaging the exterior of buildings, spray-painting anti-ICE slogans on federal facilities, leading to the complete closure of federal offices in the city from the 9th onwards.
With the building shut down, operations in the USCIS office were also halted, resulting in the cancellation of appointments ranging from immigrant interviews, fingerprinting, to immigration court hearings.
Lawyer Ivan Garcia informed reporters on Wednesday morning, “Many appointments over the past two weeks have been canceled, including those of my clients. Today marks the first day of resumption. The upcoming appointments are likely to be full, and they (the immigration agency) will reschedule interviews, but some individuals might face significant delays.”
Another lawyer mentioned that two of his “luckier” clients quickly received new appointment dates for a month later. However, some clients are still anxiously waiting for rescheduling notifications.
Omar, who had just passed his citizenship interview on Wednesday morning, expressed to reporters that while everyone has the right to voice their opinions, it should be done peacefully without disrupting others. He recounted his 15-year journey of legally passing the citizenship interview step by step, emphasizing how frustrating it would be if delays occurred due to others’ violent protests.
“Truthfully, I sympathize with those individuals without criminal records facing deportation. But I believe that obtaining immigration status through legal channels might make life much easier,” Omar remarked.
Wella, who officially became a US citizen on Wednesday morning, shared that her original citizenship oath ceremony scheduled for June 11th was automatically canceled due to the violent unrest.
“I received a new appointment for this morning’s oath, and although the wait wasn’t long, the process still induced anxiety. I felt like I was about to have a heart attack. Yesterday, when I checked online, the office was still closed. I kept refreshing the page multiple times, feeling the tension rising,” she shared, highlighting how the 12-day forced closure had caused immense anxiety for thousands of immigrants going through legal procedures.
While the curfew in Los Angeles has been lifted since the 6th, the streets appear to have returned to calmness, yet various death threats and profanities remain on buildings. As of Wednesday afternoon, National Guard troops continued to patrol the federal building downtown, aiming to prevent any potential repeat of the riots.
Meanwhile, investigations and accountability measures concerning the violent unrest are ongoing. Federal prosecutors have stated that they are closely monitoring the “masterminds” behind the chaos in Los Angeles.
Previously reported by The New York Post, during the Biden administration, the “Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights” (CHIRLA), which received tens of millions of dollars in government funding, was at the forefront of organizing protest rallies. Another organization allegedly driving protest activities was the socialist-leaning “Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL),” with financial backing linked to American billionaire Neville Singham currently residing in Shanghai.
On Tuesday, the US House Judiciary Committee announced an inquiry into CHIRLA. The committee raised concerns over CHIRLA receiving millions in grants between 2021 and 2023 originally allocated for “civic education innovation programs” and “naturalization services,” suspecting potential diversion of these funds to support the anti-ICE violence activities in Los Angeles.
Chairman Jim Jordan demanded CHIRLA to submit all relevant documents and communication records by July 8th, explaining the expenditure of funds.