The Trump administration instructed its employees to halt immigration pathways to people from 19 countries deemed high risk.David L. Ryan / Boston Globe via Getty Images

Several immigrants ready to take their citizenship oaths at Boston`s Faneuil Hall this week were told they could not proceed because of their countries of origin.

The same situation is playing out across the country.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has instructed its employees to halt immigration pathways to people from 19 countries deemed high risk, including Afghanistan, Cuba, Venezuela, Haiti and Somalia.

The naturalization ceremony is the final step to becoming a U.S. citizen, a process that takes years to complete.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu expressed outrage at the situation over the weekend.

"It`s despicable and it is deeply painful to see this happening across the country but to feel it at the cradle of liberty in Boston at Faneuil Hall a place that represents the foundation of this country and the very values that have made our nation who we are," Wu said

Several people said they received cancellation notices through an online portal but the notices provided no further guidance.

USCIS has said this pause is part of an effort to strengthen its screening processes and keep criminals from entering the U.S.

"We changed that approach on day one of the Trump administration. Under President Trump, we are building more protective measures that ensure fraud, deception, and threats do not breach the integrity of our immigration system," USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow wrote Friday in a press release announcing a new screening center headquartered in Atlanta