 All those having business before the Honorable Burl A. Howe, Chief Judge of the United States District Court in and for the District of Columbia, now holding this naturalization ceremony will draw nigh and give their attention. God save the United States of America and its Honorable Court. Please remain standing for the presentation of the colors, the playing of the national anthem and the retirement of the colors. The Honorable Court is now in session. Welcome to the museum at the National Archives. As you heard, I'm Chief Judge Burl Howell of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. And I have the privilege of presiding over this naturalization ceremony this morning. And let me just say it's truly an honor to be sharing this memorable milestone for all of our newly, new citizens, about to become citizens. So the ceremony this morning began with the Joint Armed Forces Color Guard presenting our nation's flag and the flag of all of our military services. We stand for these flags to show our pride in our country and our respect for the military service men and women who help defend our security. So our flag is an important symbol and we are fortunate to stand in this rotunda next to the foundational documents under glass that you see about setting up the foundation for what our country stands for and what our flag stands for. The Court now recognizes Simone Logan, the Deputy Clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. She is going to introduce those persons seeking to become new citizens. Ms. Logan. Thank you, Your Honor. May it please the Court when your name is called, please stand, answer here or present and remain standing. Honorelli Mahia Moreno-Honduras. Aiman Abdurrahman Tunisia. Marjan Eva Bakeside Iran. Samra Gabretz-Sacan, Ethiopia. Asseye Gebra Malaku, Ethiopia. Jovana Kinesovic, Serbia. Fatima Amini Abdale Sudan. Rosemary Martinez-Nix El Salvador. Pedergini Maltem Otabash Turkey. Gabrielle Zoramey Rolte India. Jessica Yanes Berreira Guatemala. Antonio Hernandez Galdamez El Salvador. Sarah Ramos, Dominican Republic. Maria Ebreu, Dominican Republic. Vili Baljma Batar, Mongolia. Sumya Virachandran Balaji, India. Mina Balsam Ali Naji Al-Atar, Iraq. Tasneem Mohammed Esmeel Sudan. Silvana Gisela Starolanski Kaufman, Argentina. Reza Mir Iran. Jorge Rafael Franzini Uruguay. Monerof Bun, Cambodia. Suzanne Abagomico Bubba Fogum, Cameroon. Madeline Yang Ha Chung Kong, Mauritius. Indalkachu Kebede Aztakel, Ethiopia. Julio Tao, China. Obdulia Halle Hamilton, Philippines. Dinora Maria Kudimus, Venezuela. Genadi Podoni, Russia. Ricardo Andres Gesai Peru. Renee Jose Diaz Del Cid El Salvador. Marlon Alexander Romero Osorio Honduras. Charlestina Lavina Noah Sierra Leone. Mehdi Makua Miles Ndoko Romero-France. Maria Sonia Sura Flores El Salvador. Sara Mohamed Yassin, Ethiopia. Yudi Renoso Dominican Republic. Wongel Gebra Keden, Siam, Ethiopia. Hilda Aguilera El Salvador. Maria Ann. There are 39 applicants for naturalization. Each applicant is eligible for naturalization at this time. A 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 is, or her name, to include those prayers for name change be granted naturalization as citizens of the United States of America. It is my pleasure to grant the motion. Now, everybody, please raise your right hand as I administer the oath of allegiance to the United States, 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 heretofore been 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 noncombatant 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. All right, congratulations to each of our new citizens. And Ms. Logan will lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance. My pleasure, ladies and gentlemen. And to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God. Please welcome eighth grade students from Friendship Public Charter School Chamberlain Campus who will recite the preamble to the U.S. Constitution. We, the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice and short domestic tranquility. Provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves. And our posterity do ordain and establish the Constitution for the United States of America. Please welcome to the stage the acting archivist of the United States, Deborah Steidel-Wall. Good morning and welcome to the rotunda of the National Archives. Congratulations to America's newest citizens. All 39 of you were so happy for you. Thank you to Friendship Public Charter School for that wonderful recitation of the preamble to the Constitution, which you will remember for the rest of your life. And of course, thank you to Chief Judge Beryl Howell for providing over today's ceremony. National Archives is so proud to host this naturalization ceremony with the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Today is the 331st anniversary of the Bill of Rights. President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed Bill of Rights Day on December 15th, 1941. To my left is the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. They spell out the basic personal rights and freedoms that are guaranteed to every American, including freedom of speech, religion and press, the right to petition the government, and the right to do process of law and a speedy and fair trial. And these rights are now your rights as new citizens. Behind me is the original Constitution, which is the basis on which the United States government is structured in your oath of allegiance today. You pledge to uphold this Constitution. And to my right is the Declaration of Independence, the parchment that our founding fathers signed in 1776 in Philadelphia, setting us on the path to our nationhood. Together, these documents are the cornerstone of democracy in your new home. Naturalization ceremonies are absolutely always my favorite days here at the National Archives. I never fail to get emotional. There's my sheer joy for you, our new citizens, and the promise that your journey represents. And I think about my own ancestors, my distant paternal ancestors who fled failed revolutions in Germany and potato famine in Ireland in the mid-1800s. And more immediately, my beloved maternal grandparents, Maria Abad Martinez and Francisco Rodriguez-Heal, who came to America in the 1930s for economic opportunities unavailable in their native Spain. Their immigration story heavily, very heavily shaped my identity and my worldview. And I wish they could see their granddaughter today standing in front of America's founding documents and welcoming new citizens and know how grateful I am for their courage and their sacrifices. So many Americans have stories like mine and now you, our newly naturalized citizens, have your own journey to share. We have billions of pages of records here at the National Archives. Becoming an American citizen makes you a part of those records too. Your naturalization records will one day be part of our holdings and maybe someday your descendants will search our records and discover your story. Now I would like to introduce the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services or Jadoo. Director Jadoo previously served as Chief Counsel at USCIS and most recently she was the Director of DHS WACHA and America's Voice Lead Project focused on good government and accountability in the immigration system. She's also served as an adjunct professor of law at American University's Washington College of Law and Council At Potomac Law Group. Please welcome Director Uri Jadoo. Thank you, Deborah. I was just thinking, I cannot believe I'm in this room with these documents and conducting and being a part of this naturalization ceremony. What a proud opportunity. I wanna thank our Washington district and our field office and the district court for the District of Columbia for all their hard work, putting this ceremony together. What a special event. What a momentous event. Thank you. I also of course wanna thank Judge Howell for presiding over the ceremony today and the National Archives for allowing us to do this in this wonderful event space to be able to share in this moment, particularly with these documents surrounding us as new Americans come into our country and become a part of us. It's truly something special to take the oath of allegiance surrounded by these documents. NARA, the National Archives and USCIS have a long and mutually beneficial relationship safeguarding the records that are vital to the immigration process. Those records that you and our agency created together, they will become part of this place. We're so proud to work hand in hand with NARA to establish our digital record quality standards for all of those we serve. Our partnership with NARA is essential to USCIS's operations, helping us make ceremonies like today special. And finally, I wanna thank Secretary Miguel Cardona for joining us today to celebrate our newest Americans. To our new citizens, on behalf of President Biden, Secretary Mayorkas and the nearly 20,000 employees of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, I'm honored to be one of the first few people to call you my fellow Americans. Each of you represents a unique array of customs, backgrounds and cultures, and you now have a new and special bond that you share as United States citizens. We're here today to honor your diversity and to celebrate what we all have in common. In addition to being the day you took the oath of allegiance, today is also Bill of Rights Day, and on this very day in 1791, the United States ratified the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The Bill of Rights guarantees us all important freedoms and rights, such as freedoms of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of religion. The main author of the Bill of Rights, James Madison, believed that it was necessary to expressly define these rights as part of our Constitution, calling them the great rights of mankind. Participating in naturalization ceremonies is one of my favorite parts of being the director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Every ceremony is meaningful in its own way. Because of you, each time I have this honor, I'm reminded again that only in America can the daughter of two immigrants with a father from Iraq and a mother from Mexico serve as the first woman, first Mexican-American, first Kaldian-American to lead the agency that naturalized my own parents. I know that today marks the end of your immigration journey and it could have been a very long one, but it's also the beginning of your American story, the one that is reflected in the richness and diversity of this nation. With your new rights and your new responsibilities, you can make a direct impact on this nation and your community. You have the chance to not only forge a life for yourself here, but also help shape the future of this country. With your new rights and responsibilities, you can make a direct impact on this nation and your community. Do simple things like register to vote and exercise that right. Get involved in your children's school and your local community. Participate in your place of worship or volunteer at local organizations. Serve in our armed forces. Operate a business or even run for public office. America needs you. I wanna recognize just a few of our newest citizens today and some of the ways that they have already contributed to this great nation. We have Tasneem Mohamed Esmail from Sudan who is helping to educate our youth as a substitute teacher. And we have Moni Roth Boone from Cambodia who is working as a health technician. And we also have Dinora Maria Cudemas from Venezuela who is working as a legal assistant. As I look across the room, I know that each new citizen here today, we are each upholding all of us together. The promise as a nation of welcome and possibility. I also know that each of you have dreams and hopes for the future and will continue to make contributions to this great nation. It is with this great spirit of optimism and possibility that we welcome all of you as our newest generation of American citizens. Congratulations. Thank you. So now I would like to welcome Secretary of Education, Mikhail Cardona. Secretary Cardona previously served as the commissioner of education in Connecticut, a position he held after being appointed by Governor Ned Lamont in August 2019. In this position, he faced the unprecedented challenge of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and led the safe school reopening efforts in Connecticut. Secretary Cardona served two decades as a public school educator in the city of Meridan. He began his career as an elementary teacher. He became a school principal in Meridan in 2003 where he led a school with outstanding programming for three to five year olds, students that were bilingual and students with sensory exceptionalities. He proudly served in this role for 10 years. In 2012, Secretary Cardona won the 2012 National Distinguished Principal Award for the State of Connecticut and the Outstanding Administrator Award from University of Connecticut's Neig School of Education. Please welcome Secretary Miguel Cardona. Thank you very much. Acting Archivist, Wall, Chief Judge Howell, Director Jidoo. Thank you. Welcome, citizens and your families and guests. It is an immense honor to welcome 39 new Americans today. You hail from 25 countries all around the globe, from Serbia to Sierra Leone, India to Guatemala, France to Cambodia. To Cambodia. As our nation's motto says, y pluribus unum, out of many, one. And we know their strength in unity. Or as we say in Spanish, en la unión está la fuerza, in unity there's strength. Today, you join the ranks of we the people as citizens. Congratulations. Earlier this year, I visited Independence Hall in Philadelphia to commemorate the 235th anniversary of the signing of our constitution. There I walked into the room where it happens to borrow from Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton with a few members of the education department team. Now on that team, who walked into that room that day, I had the son of Egyptian immigrants. I had part of my team, someone of Cuban descent. And I had another whose parents came from Japan. All three were born and raised here. And then there was me, a Latino secretary of education, a grandson of a tobacco farmer from Puerto Rico, consangre de España y de África. Not one of us who walked into that room where our constitution was signed would have been represented in the room where it happened 235 years ago or for many years to follow. That's a testament to our nation's incredible ability to both endure and evolve. We demonstrated that just four years after the constitution was signed. When our nation ratified the first 10 amendments to the constitution 231 years ago. But we celebrate today as Bill of Rights Day. From the very beginning, our nation's story has been one of we the people together. Always matching persistence with progress, resolve with re-imagination. You now have a chance to shape that story with the new rights you've gained as citizens. You have the right to elect our nation's leaders with your votes. You have the right to apply for a role in our federal government. We're always hiring at the Department of Education. You have a right and an obligation to serve on a jury when called. But let me make something very clear. These aren't just legal rights. These are opportunities. They're opportunities to contribute your superpowers as American citizens. Far too often as an educator, whether it was a fourth grade teacher, school principal, district leader. I saw people that assumed that students who didn't speak English or came from a different culture, people assumed sometimes they wouldn't succeed. That parents with language barriers weren't interested in their communities and their schools. It was a deficit mentality that was placed on them. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our nation survived and thrived because different languages and different cultures were seen as assets, not deficits. They are your superpowers. A few months ago I was at a cabinet meeting at the White House. The cabinet meeting is where the President, Biden, and Vice President Harris meet with myself and about 23 other cabinet members to talk about the progress of our country. It's a beautiful room, right next to the Oval Office. And while we were waiting for the President to come out, the cabinet secretaries, we were talking to each other. And underneath a beautiful portrait of George Washington, our first President, I saw three of my colleagues and I went over to them and I started talking to them. And naturally I started talking to them in Spanish, right under the portrait of George Washington because my colleagues were Javier Becerra, Isabel Agusman, and Alejandro Mallorcas. So the four of us were standing under a beautiful portrait of George Washington, just naturally talking in Spanish about topics of work only in this country is that possible. Only in this country, the sons and daughters of immigrants were sitting, waiting for the President in the President's office talking in our native tongue. You have those superpowers as well. What made us different gave us something special to contribute in the room where it happens in the White House. And as you go forward as citizens, I want you to know that any room you enter is the room where it happens. When you enter the polling station and you cast your first vote, that's the room where it happens. When you go into your child's school and meet with your fellow parents, that's the room where it happens. When you walk into your job or zoom into your home, that is the room where it happens. Wherever you go, it's your willingness to contribute your unique superpowers that will make it the room where it happens. Our nation needs you. Let me tell you, you are now as American as Apple Pie, and it is our privilege to welcome you to we the people. Thank you. Please welcome to the stage the Honorable Barrell A. Howell. Okay, I'm going to try and speak slowly to minimize the echo so you can hear me. I wanna join the other distinguished speakers in thanking our friendship public charter school students for their job on the preamble. Nicely done. Thank you all for being here. And congratulations again to the citizens and your families who are joining you here today in this rotunda with all of our special founding documents around us. Our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, all are under glass here, but you should understand that their goals, their ideas, their framework live on vigorously in this country. One of the reasons the founders of our country expressly cited for declaring independence from England was that the then king of England, King George III, had, and I'm quoting from the Declaration of Independence, you can see over there on my right, had obstructed the laws for naturalization of foreigners. And he'd also refused to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, meaning to the United States. So how fitting it is that you're becoming naturalized citizens standing next to the Declaration of Independence that set out as a goal for our independence and our country that we welcome new citizens from foreign lands here. After the Declaration of Independence, this is a little bit of a history lesson, came our US Constitution and our very first Congress created by the Constitution, worked to perfect the Constitution by proposing 12, not 10, 12 amendments. And over the next two years, 10 of those 12 amendments were ratified by the states and are what we call collectively our Bill of Rights, which we mark every December 15th as Bill of Rights Day. These are constitutional amendments to improve the Constitution and provide critical guide posts on the inalienable rights that each American citizen holds. So you've heard among our Bill of Rights, the freedom of speech and religion, the right to be secure in our houses and free from unreasonable government searches, due process, the right to a jury trial. These are rules about the mutual respect we owe each other and our shared responsibility to adhere to and uphold these rights, which are so important to our civic order and to ensure that we have the more perfect union that our Constitution's preamble, we heard today, was designed to achieve. The amendments to improve our democracy did not stop, of course, with the 10 Bill of Rights. The Constitution has been amended 27 times and the last time was actually not so long ago. The last 27th amendment to the US Constitution was added in 1992. So for those of us like me who are over 30 years old, it happened in our lifetime. And funnily enough, that amendment, the 27th amendment started as part of the first group of 12 that our very first Congress sent to the States for ratification. But for that 27th amendment, it took 203 years to get ratified, unlike our Bill of Rights. We have over 330 million Americans in this great country, many with radically different views about the problems and the solutions confronting this nation. But no matter their differences or where they originally came from, as Americans, they each share the rights granted under our Constitution in all of its parts and in all of its amendments. Most Americans are here because their parents or grandparents, or in my case, great-grandparents, made the courageous choice that each of you has made to leave the countries where you grew up, where you knew the language, where you have family and friends to follow your dreams to this new country. And it's not easy to do that. And I know many of you have waited, you've studied, you've worked hard to arrive at this day. People come to America for many different reasons. Some leave the countries of their birth with sadness to escape difficult situations and even war. But all who come here aspire to build better lives for themselves and for their children and their grandchildren. It's thrilling to see the number of countries that you all come from. No matter where you come from, you're welcome here. America truly is the great melting pot. We're all enriched for it and better for it. Now, each of you is able to say you're an American citizen. Now, as citizens, you have the rights we've all discussed that are protected under our constitution and enforced. If necessary, in courts around this country, presided over by federal judges wearing robes like me, and ultimately by the justices of the United States Supreme Court, you have the right to practice your faith and importantly not to follow any religion at all if you don't want to. You have the right to speak freely about matters that you care about and the right to privacy in your home. As citizens, you each have equal fundamental rights. You're each equal before the law with an equal share in the freedom to pursue your own version of happiness. Of course, our constitution does not guarantee you're going to find happiness, but the founders of our nation stated their intention in the Declaration of Independence to design a form of government where each person is free to try. Now, as citizens, we not only have rights, we also have duties, we have responsibilities. As new citizens, I hope you make three choices about your lives as American citizens. First, I hope you choose to be involved. We are a self-governing people and self-government works best when citizens are involved and informed. You should seek to inform yourselves, read, listen, understand the choices we face as a nation. An educated citizenry, and thank goodness we have the Secretary of Education here, how appropriate, because an educated citizenry is essential to the continuation of a self-governing country. Your children and grandchildren will learn the duties of citizenship by watching you. When you go to vote, take your children with you to see how it occurs, what happens in the voting booth. We have congressional elections every two years, presidential elections every four years. I know you've all studied that, so you all know that. In between, pay attention to what our elected officials are doing and talk to your children about what you hear. Teach them through your action that not only are we free to complain loudly if we want about our political leaders, we can vote to change them or to keep them. The United States may not be perfect, but we have a very powerful tool in the voting booth to make improvements. I hope you also make a second choice. Choose to make a positive contribution to your community in which you live. We expect you to be law abiding, but as citizens, expect more from yourselves than that. We may not all be able to perform public service at the level of our speakers here this morning, but we can do our part, whether it's as small as picking up litter that we see on the sidewalk, helping a neighbor or volunteering at our children's schools. Finally, I hope you all choose to share your stories. Many Americans take their citizenship for granted. You may have noticed that by telling your story about why you chose to come here and what you went through to get here helps your fellow Americans appreciate what we have in our country. Plus, America is a richer place because of your stories, the cultural experiences you bring. America's strength truly is the diversity of its people. And I'm proud to call you my fellow citizens. So choose to be involved, choose to make a positive contribution to your community and choose to tell your stories. So by your conduct and your qualifications and your actions here this morning, you have each earned your rightful place to be called American citizens. So congratulations again and finally to everyone. Mr. Johnson, please. This concludes the ceremony. Zonbo Court is now adjourned. Right now I need for you all to have a seat as my new American brothers and sisters will get their certificates. Please remain seated as the presentation of certificates are given out. Watch your step. Okay, I'm just gonna explain to our new citizens what's gonna happen now. You're going to walk in a line, follow Mr. Johnson's directions and you're gonna walk over here and you're gonna be handed your final paperwork and we'll be able to greet you, all the people who spoke this morning. We're not gonna shake hands because COVID continues to be an issue but we wanna see each of you individually. Thank you. Sister, sister, come on, give me something. Come on, give me something, give me something. Sister, sister, I don't know if you're next or not. I don't know if you're next or not. This next one, sister. Oh, well, well, well, there you go, give me something. Bravo, congratulations. Give me a little bit. Come on, congratulations, my little sister. Congratulations, come on, come on, come on, go ahead. Let's go ahead and offer it. Ready? Congratulations, give me something. Ah, congratulations, elbow. Ah, congratulations. Have an elbow. Ah, congratulations. Both fists, congratulations. Elbow, congratulations. My brother, there we go, congratulations. Congratulations. Ready? All right, my medical sister, give me something. She like it. There you go, wave the flag. Elbow. There we go. My sister, there you go, congratulations. My brother. Congratulations. Brother, good job, man. No, congratulations. We like it. Thank you. My sister. My sister, give me some love. Congratulations, my sister. I know, you like it, right? My brother, give me some ice cream, which one? Ah, ah, ah. Good job, look the shot, my brother. There you go. Man, my man, you're looking good. Congratulations. Brother, I ain't afraid to say thanks. My sister, congratulations, give me some love. Brother, congratulations. My medical sister, come on, meet your athlete. Give me something, congratulations. My medical sister, elbow, my sister, here. My medical sister, last time I lose my medical sister. Double tie.