After courtroom deputy K. Lynn Lemieux administered the oath to the 12, visiting federal Senior Judge Robert T. Bryan declared them as citizens of the United States.
President Obama congratulated the new citizens in a pre-recorded message, saying “no dream is impossible” in America.
Family members later joined the 12 for a photo opportunity with Bryan.
Seventy-one-year-old Ceferino Balisalisa told the Variety that one must “work hard and be patient” in pursuing the American dream.
He has been on Saipan since 1979. He is currently working as a stevedore, parts-man and electrician.
