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Trump administration celebrates legal immigrants becoming citizens on Independence Day
Democrats continue to romanticize illegal immigration, insisting that the U.S. economy would collapse without this cheap and undocumented source of labor, while urging their fellow Americans to refer to illegal aliens as “undocumented workers.” They consistently remind their “less tolerant” neighbors that the latest generation of immigrants are simply continuing a great American tradition by seeking new opportunities in a land of freedom.
Meanwhile, law-abiding legal immigrants faithfully apply for citizenship in a system that is stressed to breaking and slowed by the endless flow of illegal aliens across the southern U.S. border. To celebrate this under-appreciated class of would-be Americans, the Trump administration has been tweeting out images and details from over a dozen naturalization ceremonies held across the country.
Oath of Allegiance
In patriotic ceremonies coinciding with America’s Independence Day weekend, hundreds of lawful immigrants raised their right hands and recited the Oath of Allegiance. Personnel from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) were on hand to capture these sacred moments and demonstrate how hard work and perseverance pays off for those who work within the system.
USCIS Director L. Francis Cissna was on hand to be the first to welcome and congratulate new Americans at a naturalization ceremony in San Antonio, Texas on Monday. Cissna took over the agency in October and believes that citizenship applicants should “always be treated with the greatest respect and courtesy, but we can’t forget that we serve the American people.”
Director Cissna welcomed 37 new U.S. citizens from 18 countries at a naturalization ceremony at the Bexar County Courthouse in San Antonio, Texas. He also visited with staff at our San Antonio Field Office. #newUScitizen pic.twitter.com/qeFh6P1Px9
— USCIS (@USCIS) July 2, 2018
Every year, about 8,000 immigrants join the U.S. Armed Forces, and a 2011 study determined that as much as 4 percent of active duty service members are non-citizens. On Tuesday, around 50 sailors took the Oath of Allegiance on the deck of the USS Midway in San Diego, California in an expedited pathway to citizenship.
Fifty people took the Oath of Allegiance on the deck of the USS Midway in San Diego, California. As one of the largest ships in the world, it honors the battles fought on behalf of our nation. #newUScitizen pic.twitter.com/cV2LaGgCYd
— USCIS (@USCIS) July 3, 2018
On the Fourth of July, hundreds of immigrants became Americans in ceremonies from Raleigh, N.C. to Boston Mass. Two particularly large citizenship ceremonies were held at USCIS’s field offices in New York and Phoenix, where a combined 431 new Americans were celebrated.
The New York Field Office hosted a naturalization ceremony at the @nypl with 200 people taking the Oath of Allegiance to become new U.S. citizens. #newUScitizen pic.twitter.com/NNNWVdEeBB
— USCIS (@USCIS) July 4, 2018
The American flags were flying as the Phoenix, AZ Field Office hosted a naturalization ceremony for 231 people from 43 countries taking the Oath of Allegiance to become new U.S. citizens. #newUScitizen pic.twitter.com/dqozjha4SG
— USCIS (@USCIS) July 4, 2018
The naturalizations continued throughout the week, with oaths rendered in Tucson, Orlando, and Seattle on July 5. A ceremony was also held in New Orleans applauding the newfound legal status of 51 people from 24 different countries.
Beneath a historic World War II aircraft at The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, LA, 51 people from 24 different countries became citizens of the United States. #newUScitizen pic.twitter.com/szoeVYYo6z
— USCIS (@USCIS) July 5, 2018
With open arms
These images capture the value and esteem that the Trump administration holds for America’s newest citizens. Contrary to what progressives say, it is possible to simultaneously enforce the border laws while welcoming legal immigrants.
Trump has maintained a pragmatic, even-handed approach to legal immigration during his term, even cutting some of the financial blockades to citizenship by allowing applicants to use credit cards to pay application fees.
Although the president has proposed slashing the number of refugees and immigrants the U.S. accepts every year, the purpose behind that idea was to support a merit-based immigration process that does not unfairly advantage applicants simply because they have a distant relative living in the U.S. or, worse, to satisfy a vague diversity quota.
Legal immigrants are fulfilling a great American tradition, and they should be welcomed with open arms. This week was an example of the USCIS and the Trump administration accomplishing this mandate.
