 Good morning. Good morning citizenship candidates and distinguished guests Please stand for the National Anthem sung by USCIS Community Relations Officer Shai Koneo Burden Oh, say can you but so proud whose broad stripes and he's besieged in Thank You Ms. Burden for that wonderful rendition of our anthem On behalf of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services It is my pleasure to welcome you to this special ceremony My name is Susie Quintana, and I'm the field office director for the New York City Field Office. It is my honor to welcome you here today We are incredibly grateful to be conducting today's ceremony at New York City Hall And it is even more meaningful because we have distinguished guests who are here to mark the end of your citizenship journey Please welcome Tamika Gray The district director for USCIS New York District Commissioner Manuel Castro the commissioner of the mayor's office of Immigrant Affairs and Mayor Eric Adams Mayor of the city of New York Thank you all for joining us Now I'd like to give a brief introduction of Commissioner Manuel Castro in January of 2022 Manuel Castro was appointed by Mayor Eric Adams as Commissioner of New York City Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs He is responsible for running a city agency dedicated to supporting the immigrant community in one of the most diverse and welcoming cities in the world Before joining Mayor Adams administration He served as executive director of New Immigrant Community Empowerment nice a Queens-based Organization working to create a world where immigrants can live and work with justice dignity and respect Please welcome Commissioner Castro Welcome everyone. My name is Manuel Castro, and I am the commissioner of the mayor's office of Immigrant Affairs Today as you reflect on your journey that led you to this moment and Begin your life as citizens of the United States of America. I want to encourage you to Use your new privileges as citizens of this country to support your neighbor your fellow New Yorker and And especially the most vulnerable amongst us Such as newly arrived immigrants Who like you at some point? Aspire to one day Stand here to fully be welcomed as Americans. I Want to congratulate you? Your family and your community Who supported you along this journey? Thank you to the team at the New York office of the United States citizenship and immigration services And thank you to the team at the mayor's office of Immigrant Affairs I'm joined here today By me so this munoz our deputy commissioner of external affairs Sharon the Coronel I director of communications And I also want to thank Cesar Vargas our legal counsel a fellow dreamer and officer of the US Army reserves for making this possible But I especially want to thank mayor Eric Adams For allowing us to hold the citizenship ceremony at the steps of City Hall after two decades of Not happening at our city Hall. We get to celebrate you Your family and your journey to this moment Thank you mayor Adams for being the champion of all immigrant communities Champion of the nearest New Yorkers and the champion of our newest Americans. Thank you Thank you commissioner Castro Now we get to the moment these 40 candidates have all been waiting for Candidates you come from 23 countries from across the globe But soon you will become citizens of the United States of America. I will now call the names of your countries Please remain standing when I call the country Argentina Bangladesh China Colombia Dominican Republic Ecuador Stay standing the Gambia Ghana Guinea Haiti Jamaica Kenya Mexico Nepal Nigeria Pakistan Peru the Philippines Russia Serbia Spain and Togo Let's have a round of applause for all these countries District director gray. I would like to invite you to the podium District director gray each of these 40 candidates has been personally examined under oath by a designated officer Each has demonstrated an understanding of English unless exempt and knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of history and principles of the government of the United States Each has been found to be a person of good moral character attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States and well disposed to the great order of the happiness of the United States The investigations of the government have been completed in their cases and each has been found to meet all the criteria of The law to be naturalized District director gray the candidates are ready for oath Good morning Good morning This is a great morning in a great nation in a great city and it is my honor To provide to you your oath That will turn you from candidates to United States citizens. Are you excited? All right, so I'm a New Yorker So my voice is loud enough and you have to hear me and repeat after me I will ask you to raise your right hand. You're going to take an oath So I asked you to raise your right hand and repeat after me as loud as you can and let the world know This is the city you want to be in and the country that you want to be in Right, here we go. I hereby declare on oath That I absolutely and entirely renounce and of Jor allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince potentate states or sovereignty of Whom or which I Have here to foreman a citizen or subject that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of The United States of America against all enemies 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 the law That I will perform Non-combatant service in the armed forces of the United States When required by the law That I will perform work of National importance under civilian direction When required by the law and That I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation of evasion So help me God Congratulations Those words you are now officially citizens of the United States of America Please be seated Take a moment to let this sink in your journey Where you started however old you were whatever country you were in That journey has now come to fruition here on the very steps in City Hall in one of the greatest cities in the world What a remarkable day for you and what a remarkable achievement You are now United States citizens at City Hall and About to be congratulated in person by the mayor of the city of New York It doesn't get much better than that Doesn't get much better than that And now it is my honor to introduce Mayor Eric Adams Mayor Adams is a lifelong New Yorker Brooklyn-born and raised he has dedicated his career to serving the people of New York City He was an officer and later a captain in the New York police department Where he was always outspoken calling out racism and bias in the department and pushing for major reforms His efforts to change policing began his lifelong work to improve and protect New York From the NYPD he moved on to State Senate where he represented sections of Central and Brownstone Brooklyn in 2013 Mayor Adams was elected Brooklyn borough president Representing one of the nation's largest counties my county Brooklyn Then in November of 2021 he was elected mayor of the city of New York As mayor he has prioritized public safety and justice equality recovering from the pandemic lifting up new york's youth investing in infrastructure Supporting our vibrant immigrant community and getting stuff done Yes, he has please welcome the 110th mayor of the city of new york mayor eric adams Want to thank uh district director gray uh commissioner castro And all those behind the scene who are making this possible such a significant moment and I am 61 years old and have been a citizen From the date of birth But my number of years being a citizen Does not matter because day one you have all the rights and privileges of being a citizen of the united states It doesn't matter if it's 60 years if it's one year if it's two years You are now citizens of this country and you are a part of this elite Worship and you should be proud of that. But let me ask you this question. You tell me who am I talking about? Come to the america america May leave family members home Take any job to provide resources go to school. Maybe at night may start a small business Willing to do whatever is possible to participate in the american dream Willing to stand up for the country If I were to ask you what group am I describing? You'll have a difficult time telling me because that's the pathway of every immigrant group that has ever come to this country If you look under the fingernails of every group You'll see that they climbed up the mountain of opportunity and hope One hand at a time and you see the dirt and grime of saying i want to be part of the american dream The uniqueness of america This is the only country where dream is attached to his name Only place else. There's no other place where you have attached dream to the country But there's something else unique about this country. This is the only country where we say don't abandon your Native country to embrace your new adopted country Our secret weapon is the dash Is that dash that sits between our cultures Ghana ghanayan dash american african dash american chinese dash american ecuadorian dash american polis german You hold on to your culture and you bring it to america and make this unique experience that we call the american dream This is a great moment for you Countless number of people have been pursuing to participate and be part of this unique membership club We call american citizens And we're not perfect In fact, we're perfectly imperfect But that is the experience That we are participating in We're not supposed to be perfect Perfection is not american Dedication is american And there's something unique about our immigrant and new arrivals to this country. They're hungry They're hungry They're hungry to be part of this experience During the height of covet as I moved around covet and saw businesses shut down And lack of participation, you know what I saw I saw immigrant businesses stay open I saw them continue to work I saw them understanding that this is an opportunity That america presents And you should be proud of that You're so much part of this country now as not only citizens But even prior to being citizens fighting in the armed services Those of you who are willing to shed blood To water the tree of freedom That all of us sit under the shades from the hateful divisive actions of those who want to harm this country But we need a renewal of patriotism It was a survey that came out That stated 52 percent of americans Will not defend this country if it's attacked on foreign by foreign enemies I know and you know That you would defend I know and you know that you would stand up for this country I know and you know that there's something great about this country And I know when you said that pledge You felt something special in your heart You wanted to say I last I last And then you are a twofer you don't win just by becoming an american citizen You won because you're an american citizen in the greatest city on the globe new york city So you are winning all the way around I'm so excited for you and I know in the audience. I believe francisco moey's mother is here he His dad came and fought in vietnam To eat gotta live in And now He is the councilman That represents his council matter district Or how about commissioner castro? Came here as a dreamer Crossing the border with his family Now he's the first mexican american to head The office of immigrant affairs from a dreamer to making dreams for other people And when you look over my administration E donis rodriguez Came here barely been able to speak english Still have his dominican accent But he is the first latino to head the department of transportation and the largest Transportation in the most important City in this country And when you look all over my administration You see yourselves You see individuals who came here in pursuit of a dream And now they are in place To ensure That you can get your dream That's the secret weapon of america It's not no matter where you start out It's where you can end up You believe you pursue you take advantage you defend You stand tall And nothing you will enjoy more Then when you travel back to your native land And you're able to pull out that passport With the blue Cover and back In the gold lettering And they ask you who are you? You say i'm an american citizen I'm american citizen And that's respected And admired all over the globe And this is the first time in 20 years That we've allowed this ceremony to take place here on these steps To 24 23 nations who are here You are now ambassadors For others who want to come and participate in this american dream You pursue The dream That is your dream But it is the dream Too many people who are attempting pursue The dream Are living a nightmarish reality as they attempt to cross borders and come and participate in the dream They're turned away by other states But not here in new york In new york city with a keeper of the dream This is america's city And you must go out and ensure everyone who attempts to get the dream has an opportunity To acquire the dream And so i thank you on behalf Of every new yorker Every american Everyone who has fought to protect the dash You are now members of the club The defenders of the dash Bring your uniqueness bring your culture bring your energy bring your spirit only here Can you go to a chinese restaurant? Have a nigerian cook make a russian meal that he learned from his polish girlfriend only in america only in new york Congratulations to you all Thank you mayor adams Now mr. Cesar vodga special counsel and senior advisor will lead us in the pledge of allegiance Buenos dias Felicidades congratulations to my fellow service members who are Everyone please stand Put your right hand on your heart And repeat after me I pledge allegiance To the flag of the united states of america And to the republic For which it stands One nation On the god Indivisible With liberty And justice for all Congratulations everyone Thank you Please be seated New citizens we will now present you with your certificates Our staff will guide you as you come forward to the receiving line Umucoro Viannay Marie De Castro Esteves Rosinia Gabriela Campos Armijos Osmarlin Brito Alberto Gregorio Alfonso Isidoro Sanchez Marco Tatarac Vanessa Matos Peña Darlene Charestal Hussan Mohammed Abdullah Chaudhry Angela Mabel Reyes Fernandez Augenia Blanco Kulzuma Akhtar Rubi Belkis Antonia Garcia De Dennis Bernice Boatang Radhamiz Villafana Reyes Awul Khan Enwa Chan Andra Francisco Santiago Rodriguez Patrick John Calley Eunice Rivera Perez Toch Kadra Anatoly Andreevich Morozov Tanisa Taliba Thomas Maria Delpilar Batista Andrew Dale Giovanni Blair Flores Ramos Tex Lloyd Keyes Ruiz Felipe Pescador Tascón Sma Begum Mamasa Kamara Sisei Andemoi Shaniz McCullen Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes our very special ceremony. Please join me in thanking Mayor Eric Adams, Commissioner Castro, and District Director Tamika Gray for being part of this very special ceremony. So now the first row can please come this way. We're going to be taking photos. The second row, the next row.