US immigration authorities blocked two immigrants' applications for citizenship because of their work in Colorado's marijuana industry, their attorneys and Denver officials said, accusing the Trump administration of quietly targeting immigrants seeking jobs in the growing field.
Oswaldo Barrientos said he began working in the marijuana industry in 2014, inspired by the research he had done into medical products after his mother's skin cancer diagnosis.
He was brought to the US from El Salvador as an infant and was granted a green card when he was 13.
He assumed the citizenship application process would be simple. The 30-year-old is fluent in English and said he has no criminal history, pays taxes and graduated high school.
But during an in-person interview in November, the interviewer became focused on Barrientos' job with a state-licensed company that grows marijuana, he said.
Weeks later, he got a letter from US Citizenship and Immigration Services denying him because of his job, his lawyers said.
"I was shocked, appalled, sad," Barrientos said. "It was a mixture of emotions. I had no idea I was going to be in this situation."
"Frankly, these are the people we want to be citizens," Elinoff said. "And the U.S. government is telling them no. We don't know how many people have been denied on the same issue."
"However, under current federal policy, lawful, permanent residents like the Denver residents I have met with are being denied naturalization and may lose their legal status based on their lawful employment in the cannabis industry."
"We want to work hard to live the American dream. That's all I've ever wanted."