Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

'If you don’t like Donald Trump leave the country', US judge tells new citizens

'He will be your president and and if you do not like that, you need to go to another country'

Alexandra Sims
Monday 21 November 2016 14:27 GMT
Comments
Judge John Primomo speaking at the naturalisation ceremony
Judge John Primomo speaking at the naturalisation ceremony (KENS 5 News )

An American judge has been filmed telling new US citizens they "should go to another country" if they do not like President-elect Donald Trump.

Judge John Primomo, a federal magistrate judge in San Antonio, Texas, made the comments while presiding over a naturalisation ceremony at the Institute of Texan Cultures on Thursday.

At the event those seeking naturalisation took an oath of allegiance to officially complete the process of becoming a US citizen.

In footage obtained by KENS 5 News, Judge Primomo can be heard telling the new citizens: "I can assure you that whether you voted for him or you did not vote for him, if you are a citizen of the United States, he is your President.

"He will be your president and if you do not like that, you need to go to another country."

Mr Trump made hard line immigration policies a central part of his presidential campaign, including a proposal to build a wall along the US and Mexican border and calling for a “total and complete shutdown” of the entry of Muslims to the United States “until out country’s representatives can figure out what is going on.”

In an interview with CBS Mr Trump said he would deport two to three million undocumented immigrants “immediately” on taking office.

Millions of protesters took to the streets in major cities, including Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago, after election night to protest over Mr Trump's defeat of Hillary Clinton and dissenters used the protests to rebuke the controversial proposals surrounding immigration promoted by the Trump campaign.

Mr Trump's victory galvanized white supremacists across the country, as a wave of reported hate crimes took place across the country following his victory. Neo-Nazi and Daily Stormer founder Andrew Anglin exalted Mr Trump as a "God Emperor" following the election results. The Ku Klux Klan also announced a victory parade for the beginning of December in North Carolina.

Judge Primomo told KENS 5 News that his comments were intended to be unifying and not political, adding that he did not vote for Mr Trump.

Those taking part in the ceremony had a more optimistic outlook. Mohammed Al Farradh, originally from Iraq, said: “It is exciting to be an American. I believe that America is bigger than whoever is in office.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in