The Trump administration would have hindered Neil Young in obtaining citizenship

According to Daryl Hannah, Neil Young's process to obtain US citizenship would have been hindered several times by the first Trump administration.

“They tried all the tricks to fit it by continuing to call him to interview him,” said the actress – married with Young since 2018 – in a new interview with BBC. “It is ridiculous because he lives in America and pays taxes here since he was 20 years old.”

Contacted for a comment, the White House did not provide any response.

Born in Toronto, Young illegally crossed the US border aboard a Pontiac in 1966, spending a good part of his initial career – from Buffalo Springfield to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young – working without documents. Young got a green card in 1970, but was able to request citizenship for citizenship only almost fifty years later.

However, a path far from simple. If Hannah's comments seem to suggest political interference for the first time, Young had already told in 2019 that his question had been blocked due to a clause on “good moral character”.

At the time he wrote on his official website: “I was told that I have to do another test because of my marijuana consumption, because they say that some people who smoke the smoke have shown some problems”. A reference to a modification desired by the first Trump actor general, Jeff Sessions, who linked the use of marijuana to possible obstacles to obtain citizenship.
Despite the obstacles, the singer -songwriter has finally obtained citizenship in January 2020, celebrating the finish line with a photo in which he recorded to vote as a democratic: “I am happy to communicate that I did it!”.

But with the possible return of Trump to the White House and the increasingly restrictive migratory policies – which include the detention and expulsion also of owners of visas and valid green cards – Young fears new complications. On tour in Europe this year, he expressed concern about any problems returning to the USA, also given his open opposition to Trump.

Daryl Hannah, however, tries to remain confident: “They have retained people with Green Cards or Vista, which is horrible and terrifying, but so far they have not refused to bring American citizens back to the country, so I don't think it will happen”.

From Rolling Stone Us.