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From YouTube: Naturalization Ceremony | Arlington County Public Library | August 24th, 2023 11:00 AM
Description
Please join us to watch the Naturalization Ceremony of new U.S. Citizens.
A
Present
with
us
today
in
this
Auditorium
in
Arlington
County,
many
of
you
embarked
on
a
journey
from
somewhere
else.
You
left
behind
families
and
friends,
cities
and
Villages
farms
and
businesses
happy
times
and
challenging
times,
making
sacrifices
to
begin
your
lives.
A
new
in
this
great
country
of
ours,
Rita
Dove,
former
Poet
Laureate
of
the
United
States,
has
said.
A
Libraries
are
where
it
all
begins,
and
it's
true,
let's
think
about
that,
for
a
minute
in
the
context
of
what
it
means
to
be
a
citizen
becoming
a
citizen
means
being
granted
certain
rights
and
responsibilities
in
exchange
for
active
engagement
in
community
life
and
governance
at
both
the
local
and
the
national
level.
Citizenship
is
a
weighty
responsibility,
one
that
requires
patience
and
diligence.
A
This
country's
form
of
representational
government
depends
on
the
active
engagement
of
all
citizens
and
that's
where
libraries
come
in
libraries,
especially
public
libraries
like
this
one
were
founded
on
the
belief
that
the
public
everyone
has
a
right
to
know
to
believe
to
practice
what
they
believe.
Free
and
unrestricted
access
to
information
is
the
core
mission
of
a
library,
and
it
makes
our
democracy
work
by
giving
each
one
of
us
the
resource,
resources
and
support
tools.
A
We
need
to
pursue
the
lives
we
imagined
and
what
brought
us
to
this
country
in
the
first
place,
public
libraries
welcome
all
who
enter
our
doors.
We
create
safe
spaces
to
celebrate
our
varied
cultures
and
our
programs,
books
and
services
are
free.
You
will
always
always
be
welcome
here
and
we
hope
you
keep
coming
back.
A
A
You
have
earned
it
later
in
the
program
you
will
hear
from
Tanya
tento
Miss
tento
is
an
interim
Arlington
County
Board
member
she's,
also
former
chair
of
the
Arlington
County
School
Board,
and
a
proud
Latina
American
Born
to
Immigrant
parents
from
Guatemala,
and
now
it
is
my
pleasure
to
bring
and
welcome
to
the
stage
Ron
Rosenberg
Washington
District,
director
of
US
Customs
and
Immigration
Services.
Thank
you
and.
B
Congratulations
good
morning
my
name
is
Ron
Rosenberg
I'm,
the
district
director
of
USCIS,
US
citizenship
and
immigration
services
and
I
am
so
excited
to
be
here
with
you
today
to
welcome
you,
your
friends,
your
family
and
guest
at
today's
special
naturalization
ceremony
at
Arlington,
Central
library,
to
celebrate
your
United
States
citizenship,
I'd
like
to
thank
Arlington
County
and
the
Arlington
Central
Library
for
co-hosting.
This
ceremony,
in
addition
to
representing
USCIS
today,
I'm
also
a
proud
arlingtonian
I
live
a
few
blocks
from
here.
B
I
walked
right
over
here
and
I've
spent
countless
hours
in
this
building,
including
volunteering
at
the
book
sale.
It
is
such
a
privilege
to
be
here
to
showcase
our
agency's
naturalization
Mission
in
such
a
place.
That's
so
special
to
me
and
my
family.
This
library
and
similar
local
libraries
throughout
Virginia
offer
a
wide
range
of
resources.
Far
beyond
the
traditional
books
on
the
shelves
and
I
do
hope.
B
You'll
take
full
advantage
of
your
time
here
at
the
library
and
you'll
visit
be
a
a
frequent
patron
of
your
own
local
library
and
Avail
yourself
of
its
many
many
resources.
I
congratulate
each
of
you
on
reaching
this
important
Milestone.
Your
hard
work
and
determination
have
led
you
here
and
I'm
pleased
to
be
be
the
one
to
administer
your
oath
of
allegiance
to
the
candidates,
so
you
will
become
our
newest
US
citizens.
B
Your
spirit
and
dedication
will
uphold
America's
tradition
of
providing
hope
and
opportunity
for
generations
of
immigrants
to
come
after
you,
I
hope
this
day
inspires
you
to
take
full
advantage
of
your
citizenship,
as
well
as
the
rights
and
responsibilities
that
come
along
with
it.
I
mentioned
earlier,
okay,
so
to
officially
begin
our
ceremony.
Let's
all
please
stand
place
your
right
hand
over
your
heart
and
we
will
have
the
presentation
of
Colors
by
the
space
force.
C
D
E
E
E
B
E
B
F
F
Zambia
Mr
Rosenberg
I
present
to
you
50
candidates
representing
39
countries,
who
have
applied
to
become
citizens
of
the
United
States.
Each
of
the
candidates
has
been
interviewed
by
an
officer
of
USCIS
and
unless
Exempted
by
the
law
has
demonstrated
the
ability
to
read,
write
and
speak
words
in
the
English
language.
Each
has
demonstrated
his
or
her
knowledge
and
understanding
of
the
history
and
principles
and
form
of
government
of
the
United
States
Mr
Rosenberg
I
recommend
that
these
candidates
be
administered
the
oath
of
Allegiance,
thereby
admitting
them
to
United
States.
B
Citizenship
thanks
Kim
candidates
for
naturalization.
You
ready.
Okay,
it's
a
big
moment.
Please
raise
your
right
hand
and
repeat
after
me,
we'll
go
slow.
Okay,
I
hearby
declare
on
oath
might
PR
that
I
absolutely
and
entirely
that
I,
absolutely
and
entirely
renounce
and
abjure
rounce
and
all
Allegiance
and
Fidelity
all
alance
and
Fidelity
to
any
foreign
Prince
to
any
foreign
Prince,
potentate,
poate,
state
or
sovereignty,
state
or
sovereignty
of
whom
or
which
of
whom
or
which
I've
heret
for
been
I
a
subject
or
citizen
a
subject
or
citizen.
B
That
I
will
sort
support
and
defend,
support
and
defend
the
Constitution
and
laws.
The
constition
and
laws
of
the
United
States
of
America,
the
United
States
of
America
against
all
enemies
against
all
enemies,
foreign
and
domestic
foreign
and
Dom.
That
I
will
bear
true
faith.
That
I
will
bear
true
faith
and
allegiance
to
the
same
and
aliance
to
the
same.
B
That
I
will
bear
arms
that
I
will
bear
arms
on
behalf
of
the
United
States
on
behalf
of
the
United
States,
when
required
by
the
law,
when
required
by
the
law
that
I
will
perform,
that
I
will
perform
non-combatant
service.
Noncombatant
service
in
the
armed
forces
of
the
United
States
in
the
armed
forces
of
the
United
States,
when
required
by
the
law,
when
required
by
the
law,
that
I
will
perform
work
of
national
importance.
B
B
B
G
Tento
good
morning,
and
thank
you
so
much
for
that
lovely
introduction.
I
am
so
excited
to
be
here
today
and
on
behalf
of
the
Arlington
County
Board
I
want
to
thank
Arlington
libraries
for
hosting
the
United,
States
citizenship
and
Immigration
Services
naturalization
ceremony
here
at
our
Central
Library.
It
is
truly
an
honor
to
have
been
invited
to
offer
REM
marks
and
celebrate
this
momentous
occasion
with
all
of
you,
as
the
daughter
of
Guatemalan
immigrants.
I
know
just
how
special
this
ceremony
is.
G
My
parents
came
to
the
United
States
to
pursue
the
American
dream
and
provide
my
family
with
a
better
life
and
better
opportunities.
They
could
only
dream
of.
I
know
how
hard
the
journey
can
be,
how
hard
you
must
have
worked
and
how
proud
you
must
be
to
be
here
today.
I
wish
I
could
tell
you
that
I
remember
this
from
my
father's
citizenship
ceremony,
but
he
did
not
tell
us
about
it.
G
My
father
is
Mayan
Indian
and
my
mother
was
fair
skinned
like
myself
and
in
Guatemala.
That's
not
always
an
easy
thing
to
experience
the
Mayan
Community.
There
has
gone
through
very,
very
tragic
things
over
the
course
of
the
years,
and
so
they
came
here
in
hopes
to
have
something
better
and
I,
always
think
how
hard
must
it
be
to
leave
your
home,
your
language,
your
culture,
and
to
come
to
a
new
place
where
you
likely
don't
know
many
people,
if
any
at
all,
where
you
don't
have
guaranteed
income?
G
G
I
had
the
opportunity
to
take
a
community
college
course
at
Nova
it
was
called
Intercultural,
Communications
and
I
was
like
this
is
going
to
be
fascinating
and
it
talked
about
how
every
country
has
a
culture
based
on
the
country's
history
of
war,
in
government,
stability
and
instability,
and
it
had
12
categories
of
how
each
country
would
falter
would
land
in
that
category
right
and
if
you
were
above
50,
you
were
more.
This
way
you
were
were
under
you
were,
you
were
less.
G
The
last
assignment
of
that
class
was
for
us
to
do
an
essay
and
to
analyze
our
culture.
I
was
really
nervous
about
this.
I
was
so
worried
that
I
would
be
more
one
than
the
other
that
maybe
my
identity
as
growing
up
here,
a
Latina
would
be
thrown
away,
or
maybe
my
proudness
of
being
American
would
be
confused.
I
will
tell
you,
I
was
5050,
I
had
six
traits
that
were
completely
American
and
six
trades
are
completely
Guatemalan
and
I
was
like
wow.
G
You
do
not
have
to
forget
where
you
came
from,
but
you
can
be
both
and
I
am
so
grateful
that
I'm
able
to
be
American
and
Latina
and
bring
the
voice
of
the
Immigrant
Community
struggles
to
governance,
and
with
that
I
want
to
talk
to
you
a
little
bit
about
the
responsibilities
of
what
it
means
to
be
American.
First
I
want
to
sincerely
thank
you
for
making
this
decision.
I
do
remember
when
my
father
came
home
and
he's
like
I'm
an
American
citizen.
We
were
like
what
I
was
like
what.
D
G
First
I
would
like
to
take
a
moment
for
you
to
look
around
as
I've
shared
we're
all
from
different
backgrounds.
The
people
sitting
next
to
you
may
speak
a
different
language,
be
from
a
different
nation
and
have
unique
skills
and
life
experiences.
But
today
we
are
all
Americans
all
members
of
this
great
country.
As
a
US
citizen,
you
are
joining
a
diverse
nation
of
voices
and
goals
and
with
that
come
expectations
of
Tolerance
and
mutual
respect
and
I
want
to
just
emphasize
that.
G
Sometimes
it's
easy
to
come
here
and
be
comfortable
with
the
culture
and
the
people
that
you
know.
But
if
we
don't
show
everyone
who
we
are,
how
we
are
American
and
are
part
of
this
community
and
give
back
to
this
community
and
this
economy
and
live
here
and
raise
our
families
here
and
engage
people
here,
then
they
can't
see
the
beauty
that
each
one
of
us
brings
to
this
country
to
make
it
the
great
country
it
is
today.
So
please
engage
the
world
around
you.
G
That
is
not
like
you
and
as
American
show
them
what
it
means
to
be
American.
As
a
US
citizen,
you
are
joining
diverse
nation
of
voices,
values
and
goals,
and
with
that,
come
the
expectations
again
of
Tolerance
and
mutual
respect,
even
when
we
disagree
and
even
when
it
is
hard
and
our
our
diversity
of
thought
and
values
is
a
strength,
not
a
weakness,
and
we
must
strive
to
preserve
the
freedom
to
be
who
we
are
for
everyone
here
in
the
US.
G
So
with
that
I'm
going
to
ask
you
to
do
something
now
that
you
are
citizen,
you
have
freedoms
and
responsibilities.
It
is
so
important
for
you
to
vote.
Please
register
to
vote.
This
country
is
one
of
the
few
countries
in
the
world
where
our
voice
has
an
impact.
I
didn't
understand
that
growing
up
when
my
dad
became
you
have
to
imagine
where
in
the
US
my
parents
couldn't
vote,
I
didn't
know
what
voting
was
as
a
young
teenager.
My
father
comes
home
and
he's
as
US
citizen
and
some
point
between.
G
Then
there
was
a
presidential
election
and
he
went
to
vote
so
when
I
turned
18.
What
I
knew
is
that
I
had
to
vote
in
a
presidential
election
and
it
wasn't
until
I
got
involved
into
the
local
community
here
in
Arlington.
That
someone
told
me
do
you
know,
there's
an
election
in
Arlington
every
year.
Every
year
we
have
elections
here
every
year
and
I'm
like
what
and
they're
like.
Well,
you
think
you
should
run
for
the
school
board
and
I'm
like
okay
and
there's
a
caucus
I'm
like
what's
that.
G
Please
learn
about
this
exercise
to
vote
about
the
right
that
you
have
gained
today
to
have
an
impact
on
how
your
government
represents
and
cares
for
your
community.
There
are
voter
registrations
out
there.
It
is
such
a
privilege.
There's
people
in
Guatemala,
I
was
told
I
had
a
family
in
Guatemala
who
died
in
a
protest,
hoping
for
a
privilege
that
would
even
mimic
what
we
have
here
in
the
US.
So
I
ask
you
please,
from
local
Schoolboard
elections
to
voting
for
the
US
president,
which
is
happening
in
2024
every
four
years.
G
United
this
was
always
your
home,
but
now
you
have
a
greater
say
on
how
it's
managed
and
what
the
future
will
look
like.
So
again,
please
please,
take
that
responsibility
own
it
and
remember
for
a
lot
of
us.
We
have
family
members
that
aren't
citizens
that
live
here
and
make
this
their
home
and
they
don't
have
a
chance
to
vote.
G
I
want
my
people
in
my
community
to
be
able
to
see
me
and
judge
me
and
make
a
decision
for
that
so
important
jury
duty.
And
finally,
this
is
not
a
Duty
or
more
of
or
or
or
a
requirement,
but
more
of
an
encouragement.
I
hope
that
you
use
your
new
status
to
explore,
not
just
your
nation,
but
our
world.
You
can
now
apply
for
US
Passport,
providing
you
access
to
more
than
180
destinations,
just
as
you
have
widened
our
horizons
with
our
history
with
your
history
and
culture.
G
So
too,
can
you
widen
yours
through
travel,
I
didn't
get
to
travel
anywhere,
but
Guatemala
twice
cuz.
We
were
my
my
dad
was
a
cab
driver.
My
mother
mother
was
a
cook
and
they
Rose
in
their
careers.
My
dad
ended
up
being
a
shift
supervisor
at
a
homeless
shelter
and
he
finally
got
certified
through
a
night
program
as
a
drug
and
alcohol
counselor
in
the
80s,
and
he
still
does
that
today,
as
he
is
approaching
84
years
old.
G
G
So,
as
I
got
older,
I
had
the
opportunity
to
travel
and
I
always
took
for
granted
that
I
didn't
ever
think
about
where
I
was
restricted
to
go,
except
maybe
through
a
travel
advisory,
and
it
wasn't
until
I
got
older
and
saw
family
and
friends
who
were
not
from
here
have
restrictions
that
I
understood
what
a
gift
it
is.
So
please
explore
the
world
and
show
them
how
beautiful
America
is
and
how
we
embrace
all
cultures
and
our
one
people
regardless.
G
If
we
don't
look
like
each
other
or
our
accents
are
different
or
we
speak
different
languages
or
we're
more
assertive
or
less
assertive
than
a
culture
or
this
culture,
because
we
are
all
American
today,
it
is
truly
an
honor
to
be
here.
I
am
so
excited
for
you,
I
know
how
special
this
day
is.
I
know
for
many
of
you,
you
didn't
even
know
if
you
could
get
here
and
I.
Welcome
you
as
a
US
citizen
of
the
United
States,
congratulations
felic,
please
celebrate
today
and
I
look
forward
to
seeing
you
at
the
voting
polls.
G
B
D
Possibilities
sense,
its
founding
that
very
idea
has
been
n
nurtured,
enriched
and
advanced
by
the
contributions,
sacrifices
and
dreams
of
immigrants
like
you
and
immigrants,
like
my
own
ancestors
from
Ireland,
like
generations
of
our
fellow
Americans,
and
today,
you've
earned
a
new
title
equal
to
that
of
an
American
president.
The
title
I'm
most
proud
of
Citizen
citizen
of
the
United
States
of
America
I,
look
forward
to
standing
with
you
as
you
embrace
your
new
rights
and
responsibil
ities.
D
D
C
C
C
C
C
C
E
B
B
But
you
know
one
other
plug
I
want
to
make
is
you're
now
United,
States
citizens,
you
can
work
for
USCIS
and
we're
hiring
so
go
on
USA
jobs
and
we
would
love
to
have
you
a
lot
of
our
officers
are
former
customers
and
it
is
such
an
honor
to
bring
them
into
the
service
of
for
that
they
they
and
their
families
the
same
Journey
that
they
made
so
okay.
Now
you
get
your
Hardware
I
would
like
to
invite
Kim
zenat
to
return
to
the
podium.
B
She
will
call
your
names
and
we're
going
to
present
you
with
your
naturalization
certificates,
graduation
style.
So
when
you
hear
your
name,
please
come
up
to
receive
your
naturalization
certificate
and
then
you'll
kind
of
circle
back
to
your
seat
and
I'd
like
to
invite
our
principes
to
form
a
receiving
line,
so
that
we
can
congratulate
our
new
citizens
and
present
them
with
their.
F
F
F
B
F
C
B
So,
congratulations
to
you
and
congratulations
to
Kim
I
can't
tell
you
how
much
she
invests
in
getting
everybody's
names
right.
We
put
a
lot
of
effort
into
that.
We
want
to
honor
your
special
day.
Thank
you
all
so
much
for
joining
us
this
morning
to
celebrate
your
citizenship.
We
so
appreciate
Arlington
Central
Library
for
hosting
us
today
and
I
want
to
thank
director
cres
and
Arlington
County
Board
member
atan
tento
for
participating
in
today's
celebration
and,
above
all,
I
want
to
thank
our
newest
citizens
for
choosing
United
State
citizenship.