 All rise! All those having business before the Honorable Burrell A. Howell, Chief Judge of the United States District Court, NN4, the District of Columbia, now holding this naturalization ceremony will draw an eye and give their attention. God save the United States of America and the Son of the Court. Please remain standing for the presentation of the colors, the playing of the National Anthem, and the retirement of the colors. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Museum at the National Archives. I'm Chief Judge Burrell Howell of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and today is a memorable and important milestone for all of you, and it is my privilege and pleasure to preside over this naturalization ceremony. Maybe a gray day outside, but it's such a happy one inside, isn't it? The ceremony began this morning with the Joint Armed Forces Color Guard presenting our nation's flag and the flags of different branches of the U.S. military. We stand for these flags to show our pride in our country and respect for the military servicemen and women who help defend its security. The flag is an important symbol, and we're fortunate to stand in this rotunda next to the foundational documents that give meaning to that flag and what our country stands for. The court now recognizes Mariela Cruz, the Deputy Clerk for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, who will introduce those persons seeking to become new citizens. Ms. Cruz. Thank you, Your Honor. May it please the court. When your name is called, please stand. Answer here or present and remain standing. Terrence Ramchetti, Guyana. Maria de la Paz Medrano, El Salvador. Benjamin Edmund Mario Cappuccini, France. Amy Buema Chale, Sierra Leone. Chichuru Akuru Odo, Nigeria. Joanna Marie Sand, United Kingdom. Chizul Kim, South Korea. Dalia Yvette Ballesteros Torres, Mexico. Mekonen Mekuria Ergete, Ethiopia. Maria Rumelia Martinez, El Salvador. Marta Ketachu Casa, Ethiopia. Roman Warcu Attila, Ethiopia. Glynis Edith Zainab Akiwumi, Sierra Leone. Jalalu Abate Ahmed, Ethiopia. Anais Elizabeth Zidinds, France. Jose Antonio Castro Juarez, Mexico. Andrea Irene Arqueta Aragon, Guatemala. Giselle Roland Serrano, Trinidad and Tobago. Patience Obiageli Odund Osuji, Nigeria. Mazen Magdi Sala Abdelhamid, Egypt. James Young Ki Hong, South Korea. Mauricio Ernesto Del Cid, El Salvador. Tarek Masele Abegaz, Ethiopia. Marvin Francisco Cajina Bonilla, Nicaragua. Fesha Adi Sema, Ethiopia. Fikir Kebede, Ethiopia. Ahmed Mamoud Mohammed Zalat, Egypt. Tamirat Wakne Gezahayk, Ethiopia. Sulu Abdi Wahid Adan Somalia. John Alberto Guzman Butrago, Colombia. Your honor, there are 30 applications, 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 as naturalization as citizens of the United States of America. Thank you, Ms. Cruz. The motion is granted. Everyone, please raise your right hand and repeat after me the oath of allegiance. 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 forbid 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 the 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. Okay, congratulations to each of our new citizens. Don't pledge allegiance to the flag. Vagin allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the public of which it stands, the nation under God, indivisible and justice for all. Everyone please be seated. Please welcome the eighth grade students from the District of Columbia International School who will recite the preamble of the US Constitution. The people of the United States in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity. To ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America. Thank you students. Please welcome to the stage the Archivist of the United States, David Esfario. Good morning and welcome to the National Archives. First and foremost, congratulations to our 30 new citizens and thanks to the District of Columbia International School for that wonderful recitation of the preamble to the Constitution. Let's give them another round of applause. It's a great honor to have Chief Judge Beryl Howell here with us again presiding over our ceremony. Yesterday was Bill of Rights Day. President Franklin Roosevelt first proclaimed it on December 15th, 1941. And the day has served as a reminder that we should not take for granted the rights protected in this foundational document. Each year for this anniversary we host a naturalization ceremony with the Department of Homeland Security, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and the United States District Courts of the District of Columbia. And there is no better place to become an American citizen than in front of these hallowed documents. These charters of freedom make up our foundation as US citizens. Behind me is the Constitution which remains the basis on which our federal government is structured. 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. They risk their lives, their families' lives and all they owned in signing it. And we have them to thank for our freedoms today. To my left is the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. These amendments were added to the Constitution 228 years ago. They are the basic personal rights and freedoms guaranteed to every American which you will exercise every day. On December 15th, 1952, at the ceremony to unveil the Charters of Freedom in this rotunda, President Harry Truman declared that in my opinion, the Bill of Rights is the most important part of the Constitution of the United States, the only document in the world that protects the citizen against his government. I'm the grandson of Italian immigrants and great grandson of Irish immigrants. Using passenger lists here at the National Archives, I discovered that my grandfather Paolo at age 15 arrived in Boston from Naples aboard the ship Commonwealth on March 22nd, 1903. My grandmother, Antonia Giorgio, also from Naples arrived on March 8th, 1909, aboard the Romantic. My great grandfather, David Buckley, arrived in Boston from County Cork in 1883, aboard the Samaria. He petitioned to become a US citizen in 1892 in Salem, Massachusetts. Many Americans have stories like mine and now you, our newly naturalized citizens, will have your own journey to share. We have over 15 billion pages of records here at the National Archives. Becoming American citizens makes you part of the National Archives too. Your naturalization records will be part of our holdings and 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 and the National Archives tells everyone's story. Today we've decided to do something a little bit different for the remarks section of our ceremony. We've asked that three of you, our newly naturalized citizens, speak to us about what it feels like to become an American. So please welcome Amy Chae Lee, Kylie Kim, and Andrea Argeda. Thank you for being here. I want to thank the USCIS coordinators who have put these things together today. I want to thank everybody for being here this remedy, and I want to thank my fellow citizens that have been awarded today. I want to thank you. My name is Amy Boyma Chae Lee. I'm from Freetown, Sierra Leone. I'm presently a student of the University of the District of Columbia, reading social work as my major. I recently graduated with my associates in education. As an educationist and a social worker, I want to see people improve and develop in life. One thing I will tell you is, I will say if you come into this country and you think you cannot make it, you will make it. Work hard. I came with a determination to the United States. Despite my condition, I did not give up. I came as a dropout from school. Now I'm an associate holder. So I want to say, I appreciate the United States government for helping me through all of my struggles. Now I'm reading social work. So I want every one of you here to do the same. If you cannot go to school, do launch a trade. You learn a trade. When you learn a trade, you will achieve the American dream. There are risks. You look at our great fathers there. They are the honorable fathers of this nation. They made a sacrifice. So you need to make a sacrifice too. Making a sacrifice to succeed in life and you should have the determination to succeed in life. Just in focus. Don't be distracted by, I want some money back home. I need money when you cannot afford it. Don't do things that will not allow you because you should know that we are ruled in this country by law and we should follow the law strictly. This country is a country of law and policies. You must follow everything that you know as an individual that you cannot do. Ask somebody to explain to you what is going on. How do I go about this? If you don't ask, then you'll be lost and you'll be caught up in the web. When you are caught up in the web, that will be a disaster for you. And you'll find yourself in police issues. You don't want that to happen. As American citizens, you want to be fruitful citizens and you want to be people that will achieve your great future for your children and great grandchildren. I hope you will all here today be productive and be determined that you are going to make it. It doesn't matter your age. Don't look at your age, just go to school. If I came here, I went to high school. Somebody asked me, maybe why are you going to high school? I said, no, I have to go. I have a dream back home. I did not achieve it, but now that I'm here, I need to achieve what I'm here for. Went to high school, I finished it in six months. Then I started my associates. Now I'm not paying any dime out of my pocket to be in college because I'm in and behind all the students. And if you study hard, you will be able to achieve and make it in life. So I want to thank you, everybody. Thank you all for everything. So I thank you, thank you, mom. Thank you, everybody. Thank you, Siaz. I don't know how, I'm extremely happy to know. Thank you, everybody. Good morning, everybody. My name is Kylie Kim. I also go by Kylie. My name is Chisel Kim. I also go by Kylie. And I'm very excited to be here today. When I was told that my naturalization ceremony will happen on the 16th of December, I was in somewhat of a dilemma. I had already bought my tickets to visit my family in South Korea for the holidays for the 15th of December. And it became a bit more difficult when Jackie Burdo of USCIS told me that the ceremony will happen at the National Archives in front of the formative documents of this nation and that opportunity comes around only twice a year. And so I had to make a decision between postponing my flights and doing the ceremony on a different day at a different location. And when I was making this decision, I consulted a lot of people. And one of those people was my mother-in-law. She came here from Hong Kong more than 30 years ago and she told me about her naturalization ceremony. She remembered it as a trip with a friend to the ceremony and it was just like any other ordinary day. And so the advice she gave me was this decision should come down to how significant the naturalization would be for me and how important having the ceremony at the National Archives with the Constitution would be for me. And so as you can see, both me and my husband are here. When I was making this decision, I realized that over the past eight years, a lot of my experience and the people around me have really shaped my values. After graduating from law school, I went to work with two judges, Judge Stephen D. Meridae of the Middle District of Florida and Judge Charles R. Wilson of the 11th Circuit. And working with those judges really helped me understand the importance of public service and of fulfilling your duties as an American citizen and going beyond that. Also, a current colleague of mine, Hailey Wallace, who is in the audience today, told me that when she saw the Constitution for the first time, in this very room, she cried. And she taught me the importance of having true love for this country. And so just by virtue of having these amazing people around me, I learned the importance of having, I learned about the responsibilities and of the privilege of being an American citizen. And I believe I speak on behalf of myself and of the 30 people that are newly minted citizens with me that we are extremely proud, honored, and excited to become a part of this great nation. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. Good morning, Honorable Chief of Justice, Beryl Howell, archivist for you. It is an absolute honor to address you today. My name is Andrea Arqueta. I'm originally from Guatemala and moved to the United States five years ago when my husband and I were selected as part of the Diversity Visa Program. Today, I want to share with you a little bit about my experience in the United States. And to do that, I want to take you back to one of the days I cherished the most since I moved here. I was at a company-wide meeting last year, about seven months pregnant at the time, with a very large round belly. The reason of the meeting, our CEO was announcing my promotion to Chief Operating Officer of the company. And while I was proud of the accomplishment, I remember that as one of my greatest days because of what it all meant. First, it meant that someone chose to see past my race, gender, age, nationality, and even a big belly, and instead chose to believe in me. It meant that someone from Guatemala, or nearly 60% of the population lives in poverty, and only 5% have access to higher education was given an opportunity. It also meant that a woman was given a seat at the table, when currently today, about 20% of women are granted the same type of position. And I'm sure it's not because of the work ethic, potential, or perseverance, difference in mind, but because they're yet to find someone that is willing to give them the space. But most importantly, I cherish that day because it confirmed in my heart that moving to the United States, the land of opportunity was the right decision, despite the difficulties that come with immigrating. And like most of us in this room know, immigrating is bittersweet. We each have our own story of how we arrived here, but they're all similar in that we left the place we called home, our friends, our families. After tearful goodbyes, we had a lot of learning to do, everything from the language, the culture, the system, the rules. But we all kept moving despite the moments of uncertainty, the moments of nostalgia, our missed family moments, and even some food cravings. Our hope for a better future, our determination to overcome challenges and a deep desire to feel like we belong, kept us going. And today, we can officially say that we belong. We belong in a country that was founded on the idea that all people are created equal. We belong in a country that was founded trying to guarantee freedom and liberty for all. And now, we have rights. Rights that give us a void in the country's democracy to ensure that the principles on which the country was founded prevail. Because ultimately, the principles of the government will permeate our community, our schools, our workplace, our families. These values will determine our livelihood. And as we continue on with our lives after this important milestone, we must promise ourselves to never forget where we came from, the amount of effort it took to get here and to be grateful. And the best way to show gratitude is to make a difference in our community. In fact, that is one responsibility that we're committing to today. I personally hope to support the Latino community, specifically encouraging young Hispanic girls to dare to dream big, recognize their strengths, and to work hard to conquer circles. But one thing that we can all commit to today, regardless of what resonates with us, is that we treat others as equals, that we believe in them, and if we're ever in a position to give them an opportunity, that we do so. We should never underestimate the impact we can have. It could change a life. Those are the values that America was founded on. That is the America I want from my community, from my friends, and most especially from my daughter. I want to take a minute to thank our guests. If you're here today, it's because somehow you've been part of our story. I also want to take the opportunity to thank my father for having the courage to become a sole bright scholar with a family of five. It completely changed the direction of our lives. But most importantly, I want to thank you for showing me that through our work, we have the power to change lives. To my boss, and to my coworkers, thank you for your continuous support and for being my family away from home. To my sister-in-law, for always being so supportive and for not hesitating one second to sign our affidavit of support. You're officially off the hook today. And last but not least, thank you to my husband. Who always remind me that our food need to be bigger than our fierce. Thank you everyone and congratulations to you all. Thank you to our newest fellow citizens. Please welcome to the stage the Honorable Barrel A. Howell. Well, those are three hard acts to follow. Thank you very much for all those comments. I also want to join David Ferriero in thanking the District of Columbia International School for the recitation of the Constitution's preamble. Very nicely done. So congratulations again to all of our new citizens and what a special place to become a citizen with our founding documents all around us. Our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, and our Bill of Rights rest under glass in this very room, but their goals, their ideas, their framework live on vigorously to guide our country. One of the reasons the founders of our country expressly cited for declaring independence from England was that then King George III had obstructed the laws for naturalization of foreigners, that's a quote, and also refused to pass others other laws to encourage their migrations hither. You can see those words in the Declaration of Independence listing the grievances of the founders for, in the reasons that they wanted to declare independence. After the Declaration of Independence, of course, came our U.S. Constitution, which was promptly amended with the first 10 amendments, which we call collectively our Bill of Rights. These constitutional amendments provide critical guidance on the inalienable rights each person holds. Yesterday, as Mr. Ferriero said, December 15th was Bill of Rights Day, commemorating the 228th anniversary of the ratification of those very important guideposts. The listed rights include the freedom of speech and religion, equal protection and due process and others. They set rules about the mutual respect we owe each other and our shared responsibility to adhere to and uphold those rights, which are so important to our civic order and to ensure we have the more perfect union that the Constitution's preamble that we heard was designed to achieve. We have almost 328 million Americans living together, many with radically different views about the problems and the solutions confronting this nation. And that can sound very messy and downright divisive, but no matter their differences or where they come from as Americans, they each share the rights granted under the Constitution. Most Americans are here because their parents, their grandparents or more distant relatives, in my case, my great grandparents, made the courageous choice that each of you our new citizens has made to leave the countries where they grew up, where you knew the language, where you have family and friends, to follow dreams to this new country. And that is not easy. And I know you have waited and studied and worked hard to arrive at this day. People come to America for so many different reasons. Some leave the countries of their birth with sadness to escape difficult situations and even wars, but all who come here aspire to build better lives for themselves and most importantly for their children. It is just thrilling to see the number of countries from which you all have come, 30 new citizens from 15 different countries, Ethiopia, El Salvador, South Korea, Mexico and France, and you are all welcome here. America truly is a great melting pot and we are all enriched and better for it. No matter where you came from today, each of you is able to say you're an American citizen. As citizens, you have rights that are protected under our Constitution and enforced if necessary in courts around the country, presided over by federal judges like me and ultimately by the Justices of the United States Supreme Court. You have the right to practice your faith or not to follow any religion at all if you don't want to. You have the right to speak freely about matters you care about and the right to privacy in your home. As citizens, you're each equal in fundamental rights, equal before the law, and you have an equal share in the freedom to pursue your own version of happiness. Of course, our Constitution does not guarantee you will find happiness, but the founders of this nation stated their intention in the Declaration of Independence to design a form of government where you are free to try. As citizens, we not only have rights, but we also have duties and 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 and listen and understand the choices we face as a nation. An educated citizenry is essential to the constant continuation of a self-governing country like ours. Your children and grandchildren will learn the duties of citizenship by watching you. When you go to vote, which you can now, take your children with you to see how they do it and how you do it. We have congressional elections every two years and presidential elections every four years. In between, pay attention to what our elected officials are doing and talk to your children about what you're hearing. Teach them through your action that not only are we free to complain about our political leaders, we can vote to change them or keep them. The United States may not be perfect, but we have a powerful tool in the voting booth to make improvements. I also hope you make a second choice. Choose to make a positive contribution in the 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 David Ferriero as the archivist protecting all the great papers of this country, but we can do our part, whether it is picking up litter, helping a neighbor, volunteering at your child's school. Finally, I hope all of you, like our three new citizens who spoke today, choose to tell your own stories. Many Americans take their citizenship for granted. 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 and the cultural experiences that you bring here with you. America's strength truly is in the diversity of our people, and I am proud to call you my fellow citizens. So by your conduct and qualifications and actions here this morning, you have each earned your rightful place to be called an American citizen, and congratulations to all of you. Mr. Johnson, you may adjourn court. This concludes the ceremony. This honorable court is now adjourned. But before I escort the Chief Judge and the Archivists out, they're going to stay and they're going to present the certificates to my new American brothers and sisters. So in that meantime, I want everyone to have a seat. And I will have you eyes again. Thank you. If I have you over here, it'll be easier from that way that you come out. Yeah, that's your number one. I'm glad I know it. He's number one. It's his job, remember? All right, you know, come this way. Just take my hand and last. Good to you. Good to you. Good to you. Good to you. Good to you. Congratulations. Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes today's naturalization ceremony. Please follow the volunteers to the reception room. Remember to take your programs with you as pictures from today's event will be available online at www.flickr.com slash archives news. And that information is available in the programs. Thank you for coming and congratulations to our newest citizens.