HOW NEW CITIZENS EXUDE AMERICA’S DREAM
What is one promise you make when you become a United States citizen?
Who is the father of our country?
No, these questions are not some dramatic beginning to this editorial. They are but two of the 100 questions that immigrants have to answer to become U.S. citizens.
Did you answer them them correctly? If not, you might not be able pass the citizenship test.
In our country’s political discourse, a conversation about patriotism and “who’s most American?” often enters the space.
However our love of country is shown, our contributions to the country are what count.
America and its dream are not found in our DNA, but in our commitment to the nation’s ideals, democracy and pursuit of happiness. There is no clearer example of that than looking at the immigrants who’ve come to our country and have chosen to become citizens.
‘I’M PROUD TO BE AN AMERICAN’
On Sept. 21 two naturalization ceremonies were held in Joel W. Solomon Federal Building on Georgia Avenue.
Each ceremony saw 50 permanent residents from 26 countries certified as U.S. citizens.
“Today is the culmination of years of your efforts in becoming a permanent citizen, months of study, taking the test, going through all the qualifications so that you’re here today to take the oath of citizenship,” Judge Shelley D. Rucker told participants and their families.
After Rucker’s words, the 50 applicants stood up and took the oath of allegiance.
After the ceremony, one by one, the new citizens would walk down the line, shake the hands of Rucker and the representatives of Tennessee politicians, accept their certificate of citizenship and walk out the courthouse and into citizenship.
Dan Burelle, originally from Canada, has always been infatuated with America. Becoming a citizen is a huge honor.
“Ever since I was a little kid I’ve always been taken aback with what America was like. At a very young age I knew that I wanted to be an American,” he said.
“It’s hard not to get choked up,” he said while looking back on his four-year journey to citizenship.
Burelle, who lives in East Brainerd and works at Amazon, said the most intimidating part about the experience was the final interview. It took six months for him to get the letter telling him that he was approved.
Last year alone, more than 6,700 immigrants were naturalized in the state of Tennessee, according to Homeland Security data. The year 2020 saw the most naturalizations at 7,449.
Between 2013 and 2022, more than 55,043 became U.S. citizens in the Volunteer State.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant Services schedules naturalization ceremonies regularly at the Chattanooga federal court building. The department holds about two to three naturalization ceremonies every quarter.
This particular ceremony was special because of the number of applicants who had completed passed the process.
“Due to a high number of applicants who were approved and ready to be sworn in, we requested in July — and the court approved — an additional two ceremonies of 50 people each be held on Sept. 21,” a spokesperson for the department of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said. “We are pleased that the court was able to accommodate these additional ceremonies, and that 100 people were sworn in as new U.S. citizens.”
A ‘SIGH OF RELIEF’
“It’s a long process,” Knoxville resident and Trinidad and Tobago native Leah Felice said about the steps to gain citizenship. A permanent resident for a number of years, she started the citizenship process more than a year ago.
Felice said she feels “a sense of calm” now that the process is done and she can focus on her nursing career and taking care of her 6-year-old daughter.
A sense of ease was also expressed by Jeannie Brown, a native of Vietnam currently living on Lookout Mountain.
Brown married her husband in 2016 and from then started her seven-year process to gain citizenship.
“I actually took the test last August but unfortunately I had just moved from Georgia to Tennessee,” Brown said, “so they had to transfer all my application [material] from the Atlanta office to the Nashville office.”
The records transfer added an extra year to Brown’s journey. With all of the waiting, Brown is relieved to finally become a U.S. citizen.
Immigrants come to America for a better life. And once here, they make immediate contributions.
Mothers, fathers, brothers and friends who come from countries like Mexico, Guatemala, Ukraine and India will now be known by another name: American.
But as they celebrate that distinction, let’s not forget that they’ve already earned it by working long hours to provide for their families, going to school and becoming the first in their family to have a bachelor’s degree, or starting small businesses that positively impact their communities.
As more immigrants come to our country to contribute and prosper in this great land, let’s strive to be examples of what America is: a place for everyone.