NINE new US citizens were sworn in during a naturalization ceremony at the District Court for the NMI on Thursday.
They are Dawn Tadena Camacho, Melba Velarde Camacho, Jelie Lingcogo Bertoncini, Maria Cristina Panganiban Lustre, Analyn Clapis Phan, Jerome Sanarez Pollisco, Ramon De Asis Rivera, Kevin Digma Rejano, and Manolito Maranon Valenzuela.
All of them hailed from the Philippines.
Patricia Phelan, U.S. Citizenship and Immigrations Services officer, made the motion in court to accept the applicants as new citizens.
Presiding over the special session, Magistrate Judge Heather Kennedy granted the motion and welcomed the new U.S. citizens to the American family.
In her remarks, the judge said: “The United States is famous for their freedoms, such as freedom of religion, freedom of association, and freedom of speech…. As I talked to other people who became citizens, [they] understand those rights and digest them even more so than those who were born to them….”
She added, “And what’s amazing is that you become U.S. citizens today not because of your power or religious belief or who you know, or your race, or your sexual orientation — you’ve become a U.S. citizen…because of your commitment, because of your hard work, because of the support of the people who are here with you today. So you end your journey today…recognizing that you have personal freedoms. Freedom and justice are the two defining principles of our country and the government cannot violate your individual freedoms.”
Joe McDoulett, Veteran of Foreign Wars Post 3457 commander, was the guest speaker.
“Oath taking is an ancient human practice,” he said, “and we’ve been exchanging oaths since history began across all nations and cultures.”
McDoulett, paraphrasing a quote attributed to Aeschylus, said, “It’s not the oath that makes us believe the man, it’s the man that makes us believe the oath.”
“What it means is that the strength or the power of the oath doesn’t come from the words that you said — it comes from the strength of character of the person that said the oath,” he added.
“So as of today, you are being measured by your strength of character and how you uphold this oath that you swore… No, it’s not some magic words. You’re not bound by magic, but by your character.”
The new U.S. citizens pose for a photo with District Court for the NMI Magistrate Judge Heather Kennedy, Joe McDoulett, Veteran of Foreign Wars Post 3457 commander, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer Patricia Phelan at the federal courthouse on Thursday.
