Advertisements
Home News New Citizens Take Oath Amid Trump’s Deportation Promises

New Citizens Take Oath Amid Trump’s Deportation Promises

by Celia

Carlos Wriedt came to the U.S. from Mexico in his 40s with his wife to pursue their dream of starting a business and building a better life for their daughter, who was just 10 months old at the time. On Monday, he and his wife became U.S. citizens in a ceremony at the Kansas Statehouse in Topeka, along with 28 others. Their families watched, waved small flags, and recorded the event on their cellphones. Wriedt and his wife have lived in the U.S. for over 20 years and now run a translation business in Wichita.

Advertisements

Wriedt had a green card proving he is a legal permanent resident. Before last year’s election, when President Donald Trump made illegal immigration a key issue, Wriedt wasn’t worried about renewing his green card. However, he and his wife applied for citizenship anyway, and their daughter became a citizen in September.

Advertisements

After the ceremony, where the new citizens sang the National Anthem and pledged allegiance to the American flag, Wriedt said he felt relief. “Now, nobody can take that away from us unless we misbehave — but of course we won’t,” he said.

Advertisements

The U.S. naturalized over 818,000 new citizens from October 2023 through September 2024, averaging about 68,000 a month. In Topeka, the 30 new citizens came from 18 different countries. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly noted that her family emigrated from Ireland, emphasizing the immigrant roots of many Americans.

The ceremony took place against the backdrop of Trump’s promises of mass deportations, suspension of refugee resettlements, and efforts to end birthright citizenship for children born in the U.S. to immigrant parents.

Kansas state Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen, a Topeka Democrat and United Church of Christ minister, expressed disappointment in the current climate and rhetoric. “It promotes people with short fuses doing things they shouldn’t do,” he said. However, he was heartened by the ceremony, which brought back memories of his own naturalization 50 years ago as a 13-year-old immigrant from Germany.

Speakers at the ceremony congratulated the new citizens, who had to complete applications, interviews, a citizenship test, and attest to their good character. They celebrated the diversity of the American population and described the U.S. as a place of equity and inclusion.

“The dreams of immigrants have built America and continue to inject new energy, new vitality, and new strength into our country,” Kelly said.

Kansas Court of Appeals Judge Rachel Pickering noted that her mother’s parents came to the U.S. from Mexico about a century ago, fleeing a civil war. She told the new citizens, “You are keeping the American dream alive.”

Jerry Ugbo, who came to Idaho from Nigeria in 2015 to study human biology, took the citizenship oath with his wife, Hannah, and their two children watching. He is finishing his schooling to become a physician’s assistant, and Hannah works in major event planning. They now live in Manhattan, Kansas.

Hannah Ugbo said she thinks it’s important for people to come to the U.S. legally, but the process has hurdles, including costs and language barriers. Jerry and Hannah Ugbo, unable to afford a lawyer, navigated the process themselves.

With his oath taken, Jerry Ugbo and his family planned to celebrate, starting with a meal and letting the kids play.

Read more:

Advertisements

You may also like

logo

Bilkuj is a comprehensive legal portal. The main columns include legal knowledge, legal news, laws and regulations, legal special topics and other columns.

「Contact us: [email protected]

© 2023 Copyright bilkuj.com