In these tumultuous times, the naturalization ceremony — where immigrants take the oath and become newly-minted citizens — has become even more imbued with meaning.
In late June, about 100 people from around the world now residing in Minnesota walked into a courthouse in St. Paul to pledge allegiance to the United States. They came from Argentina, from Cuba, from Ukraine, from North Macedonia, from Guyana, from Egypt, from Switzerland, from South Korea, from India and beyond — 25 countries in all.
Family and friends, small children on laps, cheered and clapped from the packed public benches and waved little flags.
“You are now at the beginning of a new line of generations,” U.S. District Court Judge Mychal Bruggeman told them, “with new narratives to be woven into our national fabric.”
We went to sketch the new Americans and ask what citizenship means to them.
Victoria Alberto, 66, is from the Philippines and has been in this country since 2001. She lives in Brooklyn Park.
Her family was all smiles as they surrounded her outside the courtroom where she had just become an American. The ceremony meant a lot to her because “I want to vote,” Alberto said. She is a nurse and wants to apply to work at the VA Hospital, where they only hire citizens.
Nutifafa Yakor, 37, lives in Mound and works as a financial consultant for mergers and acquisitions. He came here for college from Ghana 18 years ago.
His wife is American, originally from Kenya, and they have a 2-year-old daughter.
“Over time you become part of the fabric of the country and the logical next step is to take on the rights and duties of a country,” he said.
“Yes, the atmosphere has been a bit adversarial but we are a constitutional republic. There are all the checks and balances, especially in a place like Minnesota. People have been incredibly kind to me. Yes, it’s been difficult, but it doesn’t degrade my feelings today in any way.”
Sergio Espinoza, 55, lives in Granite Falls. He came from Guatemala to the U.S. in 1993 and works in construction.
What does the day mean for him? “It’s an achievement,” he said, holding his 8-month-old granddaughter, Marcela. “To be able to vote and not be discriminated for status.”
He added: “The whole journey has been kind of heavy.”
Geli Li, 34, lives in St. Paul and is a composer of concert music. She’s from China and came to the U.S. in 2018 after a stint in Germany. She is married to an American.
“I always tell my husband and friends, I have my roots in China but I have gotten a pair of wings in the Sstates that leads to a more colorful universe,” said Li.
Paul Connolly-Hartmann, 49, is from Canada and has been in the U.S. since 2016. He lives in St. Paul and works in a factory that makes steel and aluminium.
Becoming a citizen is important to him because his wife is American and he plans to stay. He says he wants to be a full participant in society by supporting candidates and voting.
He said: “I love the idea of democracy.”
Carlos Ferrer, 40, lives in St. Paul and works as a machinery operator in a factory that makes building supplies. He came from El Salvador in 2003.
“I am really happy,” he said. “Everybody wants to be a citizen.”
His wife, Karla, who was there with their three young daughters, leaned in to add: “Super excited to be part of this nation. We feel safe.”
Michael Bayly, 60, came from Australia in 1994 to study theology at St. Catherine University in St. Paul. He is now a palliative care chaplain at Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids and lives in Minneapolis.
“Today means being able to fully participate in the political process which now more than ever is crucial,” he said, adding that he wanted to vote. Bayly said he was also concerned that non-citizens might not be able to access Social Security benefits in future, even if they’d been contributing for years.
Yamileh Coto, 27, came to the U.S. from El Salvador in 2014 and now lives in Mounds View. When asked about the day’s ceremony, she said: “It means a lot.” She feels safer as a citizen, she said, and can now move forward with her desire to work in the police force.
