N.J. town nixes immigration event over prayer flap

A New Jersey town is refusing to hold a naturalization ceremony at borough hall, claiming federal immigration officials are refusing to allow them to begin with a prayer.

Carteret Mayor Daniel Reiman has requested that the United States Customs and Immigration Services relocate the Saturday ceremony, claiming he was told by immigration officials that the prayer had to be removed from the ceremony’s program.

Reiman issued a statement saying it is borough policy to open all events at city hall with a prayer and a moment of silence.

A spokeswoman for USCIS did not immediately return a request for comment on Friday.

Reiman says the town celebrates diversity and insists the prayer is non-denominational, but says USCIS can “host its godless ceremony someplace else.”