Loyalty over the law and reason: Magistrate John Primomo, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, teaches new citizens that love of the government is the pre-requisite for staying in the country

A Texas federal magistrate judge, Judge John Primomo, of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, a licensed attorney and sworn officer of the court since 1977 (for 39 years)

a public official sworn to protect the U.S. Constitution, including its 1st Amendment, reportedly told the new citizens - at a citizenship ceremony that if they don't like Trump, they should just leave the country, because "Trump is [their] President".

The statement was improper and misleading on many levels.

First, Trump is not YET their president, President Obama is their president now.

Second, a pledge of citizenship is not a pledge of loyalty to the government.

Last time I checked, We the People is the collective popular sovereign of this country, and the president of the United States is an elected public servant, subject to removal from office for unfitness or misconduct.

So, whoever is the president of the United States, nobody has an obligation to like him in order to remain a citizen of the United States or to live in the United States.

For a federal judge who deals, on a daily basis with civil rights lawsuits directly related with interpretation of the U.S. Constitution, such a public statement of a federal magistrate is downright scary - and, in my opinion, constitutes evidence of unfitness of Magistrate John Primomo to be a judge, or a licensed attorney, because he does not understand the oath of office he has made

• 39 years ago, when he was licensed to practice law in Texas;
• 38 years ago, when he was licensed to practice in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas;
• and 28 years ago, when he became a magistrate judge.

I understand what Judge Primomo was doing - he was publicly announcing his loyalty to the new president.  Yet, the pledge of allegiance is a little bit premature - since President Trump is not in office yet - and does not involve misleading other people into believing that their citizenship depends upon liking the current president-elect.

If for a judge who decides civil rights cases against the government, loyalty to the government is a pre-requisite of citizenship and even being within the United States, such a judge should be immediately disqualified from all civil rights lawsuits.

Which, of course, will never happen.