 Thank you, Your Honor. May it please the court. When your name is called, please stand, answer here or present, and remain standing. Rajesh Garg, India. Maya Mathur, India. Asperse Oskan, Turkey. Lacrimaria Stevens, Romania. Rabia Omer, Ethiopia. Sue Park Williams, South Korea. Carolina Rodriguez Garcia, Spain. Martha and Dino Ortega Honduras. Paula Bracci, Italy. Rosemary Nayero, Uganda. Roderick Ruralio, Philippines. Ashraf, Iraqi, Morocco. Chaltu, Guteta, Ethiopia. Thabriz, Wanzhi, Nemzu, Cameroon. Carlos Alvarez, El Salvador. Megan Powell, Argentina. Yenny Tenayo Espinal, Dominican Republic. Kinga, Chaplin, Angola. Nicola Marx, Jamaica. Marika Mitchell, Liberia. Patricia, Catalan, Mexico. Sang Young Lee, South Korea. Myra Ramirez, Ovando, Guatemala. Ababich, Mentose, Ethiopia. Adrian Valdivia, Breseno, Venezuela. Amir Hatem, Madi Ali, Canada. Juan Pablo Pitarque, Ecuador. Amancio, Almerales, Ortiz, Cuba. Jesus Esparaza, Laris, Mexico. Seb Luengo, Johnson, Ethiopia. Maricruz Merlot, Honduras. Your Honor, there are 31 applicants for naturalization. Each of the applicants have been examined by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service, and the government has completed its investigation in each case. It has been determined that each applicant is eligible for naturalization at this time. I move that upon taking the oath of allegiance to the United States of America, each applicant present, having answered to his or her name to include those prayers for name change, be granted naturalization as citizens of the United States of America. The motion is granted. Good morning. Please raise your right hand and repeat after me. I hereby declare on oath that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty of whom or which I have here to forebeen a subject or citizen, that I will support and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law, that I will perform non-combatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by law, that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by law, and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. So help me God. Congratulations. Please welcome students from Capitol Hill Montessori School who recite the preamble of the U.S. Constitution. Thank you students. Please welcome to the stage the Archivist of the United States, David Esperio. Good morning and welcome to the rotunda of the National Archives. First and foremost, congratulations to our 31 new citizens and thanks to the Capitol Hill Montessori School at Logan for that wonderful rendition of the preamble to the Constitution. Thank you to Judge Tanya Trotkin for presiding over our ceremony today. The National Archives is proud to host this naturalization ceremony each year with the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Citizen and Immigration Services, and the United States District Courts for the District of Columbia. Today is the 232nd anniversary of the ratification of the United States Constitution. There's no better place to become an American citizen than here in this room. Behind me is the Constitution, which is the basis on which the United States government is structured. In your naturalization oath of allegiance, you pledge to uphold this Constitution. The preamble which the students just recited contains three important words, we the people. That brief phrase captures the essence of our democracy. The Constitution gives the power to the people. Over to my right is the Declaration of Independence, the parchment that our founding fathers signed in 1776 in Philadelphia, setting us free from England. It's a courage for them to sign it. They risked their lives, their families' lives, and all they owned. We have them to thank for the freedoms we enjoy today. To my left is the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. These first 10 spell out the basic personal rights and freedoms that are guaranteed to every American. This now includes you. They include freedom of speech, religion, and the press, the right to petition the government, the right to bear arms, and the right to do process of law in a speedy and fair trial. You will exercise these rights every day. These three documents, these charters are free to make up our foundation as U.S. citizens. I am the grandson of Italian and great-grandson of Irish immigrants. Using passenger lists here at the National Archives, I discovered that my grandfather, Paolo Ferriero, at age 15 arrived in Boston from Naples aboard the ship Commonwealth on March 22, 1903. My grandmother, Antonia Giorgio, also from Naples, arrived on March 8, 1909 aboard the Romantic. My great-grandfather, David Buckley, arrived in Boston from County Cork in 1883 aboard the Samaria, and he petitioned to become a U.S. citizen in 1892 in Salem, Massachusetts. Many Americans have stories like mine, and now you, our newly naturalized citizens, will have naturalization records which will become part of our holdings. Someday, your descendants will search our records to discover your history. Here at the National Archives, history comes alive through our records. We house the tangible reminders of where we have been, how far we have come, and what is possible for each and every American. Each record, large or small, is a representation of our greater story. The National Archives tells everyone's story. Today, we've decided to do something a little different for our remarks portion of the ceremony. We've asked that two of you, our newly naturalized citizens, speak to us about what it feels like to become an American. So please welcome Ms. Rosemary Nayero and Mr. Juan Pablo Potarque. Good morning. Your honor, honorable fellow citizens, family, friends, we all sit here in this amazing historical building with a unique story of our own, and each unique story has come to this great outcome on this day. What has made mine more profound is that I share this moment with my beautiful daughter. She participated in my journey and was integral in my preparation for my interview. She quizzed me on the 100 questions that we all had to study. It was practice for her any time, even times when it was time to go to bed. Again, any chance to get an extra minute to stay up, she utilized it. Talk about a crush course in U.S. civics and history. I am confident that you will be top of your class on this topic in school among many other subjects. Gabrielle, I was asked only six questions, and my answers were a breeze because of you. So thank you so much for your support and your patience during this process. My journey started 22 years ago when I came to the United States for a higher education, but I quickly realized that there was a glass ceiling to my professional journey. It was challenging to find great opportunities like many of my peers, even with my accomplishments of two bachelor's degrees and a master's degree. But on this day, this automatic glass ceiling has been lifted, and I look forward to the opportunity to advance in my career. Becoming a United States citizen allows me so many freedoms I only dreamed of and only hoped that one day would exist for me as well, to participate, to give back in the communities I interact in. I'm excited about my new privileges that are now available to me from this day, such as the ability to vote in an election, to travel with the U.S. passport, and the ability to apply and offer my services in the federal, state, or local government, serving communities that I have come to love and call home. Thank you. Honorable Judge Chut Ken, Mr. Ferrio, ladies and gentlemen, we find ourselves at the culmination of a long, long journey, journey that started from different countries has taken well over a decade to complete. My journey began in Quito, Ecuador when I was 10 years old. My parents applied for American citizenship because they wanted to give their children the opportunity for a better future. That's why I am here. That's why we stand among each other. We are all guided by the pursuit for a better life, the pursuit of happiness. These very words inscribed in the documents behind us today not only laid the foundation for the creation of the United States of America, but also became why people like you and me, immigrants, come to the United States. We are joining a nation that protected citizens, guarantees them freedoms and promises in unwavering democracy. But with these freedoms, we cannot ignore our responsibilities. We have been guaranteed the right to vote. This is both the treasurer's right and a great responsibility. This country has stood before the world as a beacon for democracy and at the core of this beacon are our voices. We have been granted the ability to join the ranks of public servants, whether running for an elected position or applying for positions in government. These are but a few of the many privileges and freedoms passed on to us today. It may seem like we have left our home countries and our roots. That is not true. We carry them with us forever. And it is these backgrounds, our backgrounds, that form the integral fabric of the United States of America. Like many other immigrants before us and the many after us, we all form part of what American philosopher Horst Callen called, a nation of nations. So when we leave here today, remember, we entered this great hall as citizens from many nations, but we shall emerge as proud citizens of one. Thank you. Thank you, new citizens. Please welcome to the stage Honorable Judge Chutkin. Good morning. Don't forget jury service. Hope to see you all. And I will add, I served on a jury here before last. It's a wonderful experience and privilege of citizenship. Good morning, everyone. I am so delighted to welcome you all here today. I know it is a special day for you and your families. And I, when I say I know that, I really do know that because I too am an immigrant and I remember this day very, very well. In fact, my sister was naturalized in this very rotunda many years ago. So it is a special day and I know how long and hard you have worked to get here. I came here as many of us do for higher education from my home country of Jamaica. People have been moving around the world for centuries. My great grandfather came on a boat to Jamaica from India. So the movements continue. And not many years ago I so sat where you're sitting, except it was in the courthouse over in the District of Columbia and I took my oath. I want to share with you something a former president once said, and he said it better than I could, said, unless you are one of the first Americans, a Native American, we are all descended from folks who came here from someplace else, whether they arrived on the Mayflower or on a slave ship, whether they came through Ellis Island or across the Rio Grande. Immigrants signed their names to the Declaration of Independence and helped win our independence. Immigrants helped lay the railroads and build our cities callous hand by callous hand. Immigrants took up arms to preserve our union, to defeat fascism and to win a cold war. Immigrants and their descendants have helped pioneer new industries and fuel our information age from Google to the iPhone. So the story of immigrants in America isn't a story of them. It's a story of us. It's who we are. On this beautiful morning, I know that many of you have left homes and families for the hope of a better life. And while we all know that this country has so much to offer you, so do you bring your skills, your energy and your hard work to make the fabric of America richer, because as we know, immigrants have helped make America great. It may have been a long road to get here. The paperwork, the tests, the fingerprints, I remember all of it. But here you are today and I could not be happier to welcome you as fellow citizens to this wonderful country. Please accept my warmest congratulations and best wishes for the future. But before the official party exits, I want everyone to have a seat because they're going to hand out the certificates. So everyone please have a seat and then once the official party exits, I will have everyone stand again. Now you can relax, take it easy. Who's number one? Who's the first name she follows? First person stand up, good first? Number one? Number one? Number one? Okay. Microphone folks, you can't hear what I'm saying. Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Fine bro, remember to start. You are going to be the first one in the so forth and so forth. Shake each hand. Just stop for your photo. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes the ceremony. Please follow our volunteers to the reception room through the public vaults. And again, photos from today's event will be found on Flickr at www.flickr.com slash archives news slash. Congratulations to all our new citizens and thank you all for coming today.