“Baseball and citizenship, what could be better?” Congressman Rush Holt said on the field of the Arm & Hammer Park, ready to swear-in a group of nine new American citizens before tonight’s Trenton Thunder game.
The nine new citizens came from countries around the world: Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, South Korea, and Spain. But last night, they became Americans.
“I don’t have words to describe how beautiful it feels,” Costa Rican born Trenton resident and new American citizen Henry Sanchez said.
At the age of 5, Sanchez saw a picture of Los Angeles, and since then has dreamed of moving out of his small Costa Rican town and going to the United States.
“Becoming a citizen was a dream that took 37 years to come true,” he said.
Attaining U.S. citizenship is no easy task and it can take years to achieve. After proving that an individual lived long enough in the states, he or she must take and pass a citizenship test, which evaluates knowledge on American government, history, and the English language.
The nine people sworn in last night were just a very small fraction of the 9,000 who will be sworn in this week, according to Holt.
The ceremony ended with a video from President Barack Obama addressing new citizens. “You can help write the next chapter in this great American story,” he told them.
Source: NJ.com
