NEW CITIZENS CELEBRATE
FORT BRAGG, CA >> On a Tuesday evening in early June, dozens of people gathered at the John Dietrich Education Center on Dana Street in Fort Bragg. The weather was sunny and mild, perfect for an outdoor celebration with folding chairs spread about and tables of food ready for attendees and their families. Music wafted in the background. Some people sat in small groups while others milled about. All quietly engaged in conversations. COVID had prevented two years' worth of celebrations for successful students who were now citizens of the United States.
Those honored that evening had been students in the ESL/ Citizenship class offered by the Coastal Adult School which is operated by the Fort Bragg Unified School District. The instructor, Anne Thomas, had arranged a celebration for the most recent twenty-four students she and volunteer tutors had guided through every step of the complicated process of applying for U.S. citizenship. Not only had these students from other countries learned to read, write, and speak English, but they had also studied U.S. history and the civics of our national government. All this academic work was preparation for an interview in San Francisco with a federal immigration agent who would determine if they had met the requirements of American citizenship. Over the years, Thomas' students have come from places as far away as Thailand, China, and Burkina Faso.
Out of the most recent twentyfour who had made the trips to their San Francisco interviews, all had passed. It hadn't been easy. The road to citizenship for most applicants is a journey of five years. Foreigners legally living in the United States may apply for citizenship after a series of steps and payment of a $750 fee. The applicant must have lived in the U.S. for a minimum of five years. Foreigners legally married to American citizens need three years of residency. The application is twenty pages long, and mistakes of any kind, however minuscule, are not overlooked. After waiting fourteen to eighteen months, if an applicant is accepted for an interview, he must appear in San Francisco on that date and at that time.
Anne Thomas supports her students with volunteer teachers, but the financial burden of the application fee paid in one lump sum can be a major deterrent for some would-be applicants. Thomas relies on financial help from the Mendocino Coast Jewish Community Justice Group. “Because of the group's fundraising,” Thomas said, “They have been a big help to our program in providing financial support when needed.” The Mendo/lake Adult Career Education (ACE) program has also supported the Esl/citizenship class as well.
During the scheduled interview, the applicant must demonstrate the required level of reading, writing, and speaking in English. Applicants must also correctly answer impromptu questions on U.S. history and civics, randomly taken from a federally mandated list of one hundred. For example, two possible questions are: A.) Under the Constitution, some powers belong to the states. What is one power of the states? B) The Federalist Papers supported the passage of the U.S. Constitution. Name one of the writers. (See the end of this article for correct answers.) Most nativeborn citizens would be unlikely to know the answers. Of the total of fifty students whom Anne Thomas has instructed to date,
all of them have passed and become citizens.
Foreigners wishing to become citizens have a wide variety of reasons for doing so. According to Anne Thomas, “Some do it because their children were born here. Others want the right to vote in elections. Still, others came here to join their adult children and now intend to stay.” Gloria Barrera is an example of one of the last described. She has been in the United States for four years living with her adult son and family. She spent some time at the celebration conversing with a volunteer ESL tutor she knew. She plans to spend her fifth year taking the Esl/citizenship class. Her conversational English is understandable, but she knows reading and writing in English will take serious commitment.
Carrie Pomeroy, a volunteer tutor for the program, has been helping ESL students for the past four years. She first learned about Thomas' class in 2017 from her sister who is a member of The League of Women Voters. At that point in time, Pomeroy felt an urgent need to express her patriotism in a positive way that mattered. She connected with Anne Thomas and found herself immersed in a new passion. For her, she said, “It was about warmth, true patriotism, and the welcoming” of people new to the community.
During the formal part of the celebration, ESL tutors sat in the audience along with the new citizens they had assisted. Anne Thomas opened the event with a few comments, including one on the value of knowledge and how “learning is like a light that opens the door.” Each new citizen rose when called by name to receive a certificate, a small flag, and a tote filled with information from a representative of Mendo/ Lake Adult and Career Education. Tutors beamed and applauded as each of their students walked to the front of the room to be congratulated by Anne Thomas. Equally proud, was the volunteer photographer Juliana Sanchez, a community advocate from the Family Resource Center operated by the Mendocino Coast Children's Fund. Smiling, she said, “I know most of these people and their families from our children's preschool days.”
By the end of the event, the sun was still shining outside, and the temperature was still mild. Attendees helped clear the food tables and pack the leftovers. Across the street, a Little League Baseball game was just getting underway. Parents were still pulling folding chairs, snacks, and drinks out of their parked cars to haul to the field across from the Dietrich Center. Meanwhile, calling for their children, the new citizens headed to their cars. Under the early evening sun, Dana Street magically became a combined symbol of purely American culture, that of flag-bearing, proud citizens and happy kids warming up for the timehonored game of baseball.
The correct answers for the two citizenship interview questions shown above are: A) provide schooling and education; or provide protection (police), or provide safety (fire departments), or give a driver's license, or approve zoning and land use. B) James Madison; or Alexander Hamilton; or John Jay; or Publius.