Over 1,300 become newest U.S. citizens
In the nearly 10 years since César Monroy migrated from Mexico to the United States, the 34year-old Houstonian has watched immigration whip up such vitriol in U.S. politics that he decided it was time to become an American himself.
Monroy, a chef who also runs his own marketing firm in the Bayou City, was a longtime U.S. permanent resident but decided to finally pursue citizenship because he feared the anti-immigrant rhetoric that has swept through states such as Texas and has been embraced by politicians across the country.
“I came to this country not thinking that I was going to stay,” he said of his 2015 arrival. “Once you start to build your life here, of course, you become scared of what could happen.”
Monroy and more than 1,300 other Houston-area residents became naturalized American citizens Wednesday at the M.O. Campbell Educational Center near Aldine in a ceremony that featured cheers and tears.
The ceremony capped an arduous and yearslong journey through the country’s bureaucratic immigration system. Immigrants in the U.S. face limited options in obtaining permanent residency, which can take years to acquire. One must then live as a permanent resident in the U.S. for up to five years before being eligible to become a citizen, and that process, in turn, can take several months.
Several new citizens who spoke to the Houston Chronicle said their new status relieved their fears that they could be deported back to their home countries or separated from their families. Some were more excited to exercise their newfound right to vote, especially as the November presidential election nears.
Iliana Machado, a Houston administrative assistant who was naturalized Wednesday, said she chose to go through the naturalization process because she’s lived with a fear of deportation for years. Machado immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador in 2007.
Mentioning Texas’ embattled Senate Bill 4, which would allow law enforcement officials in the state to arrest and deport migrants they suspect entered the country without permission, Machado urged permanent residents who have not yet become citizens to do so soon.
“I am an immigrant, too,” she said, “and I know what it’s like to not be able to be at peace because of your status.”
Many of those naturalized Wednesday, including Machado, were registered to vote right after the ceremony through the League of Women Voters, which frequents these events to drive civic engagement among new Americans.
Also among the newly registered voters was Morris Fomba of Liberia, who first arrived in the U.S. in 2013 and now works for the city of Houston as an environmental investigator.
Fomba, 32, said his citizenship came as a relief during a time of growing anti-immigrant sentiment.
“Not all immigrants are bad people,” he said. “They don’t come here with bad intentions; they just want a better life.”
Others were just excited to get the naturalization process over with.
José Castillo, originally from Nicaragua, moved to the U.S. when he was a child in 1989. He quickly became acclimated to American life, so when he got his green card years ago, he never felt he needed to become a citizen to feel like an American.
The 44-year-old Houstonian finally did pursue citizenship after his mother pestered him for years.
“I left it alone for a while and eventually was like, ‘Eh, I’ll just go get it done,” he said of his naturalization Wednesday.
Although he doesn’t pay much attention to politics, Castillo said he plans on voting in November and had already registered to do so after the naturalization ceremony.
When asked how he thinks his new status will affect his day-today life, he chuckled. Sure, his newfound right to vote is neat, he said, but perhaps the biggest benefit would be that airport security won’t give him such a hard time when he travels.
“I’ve lived here all my life, you know?” Castillo said with a laugh. “I don’t really feel a difference.”