Naturalization ceremony is Yuma's largest ever

Yuma's newest citizens were welcomed by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Thursday in the largest naturalization ceremony the agency ever held in the city.

Judge Jay Irwin swore in 351 people from nine different nations at the Yuma Civic Center, saying, "I accept your allegiance as magistrate and welcome you as new U.S. citizens.

"As a judge, all day long I do many unpleasant things but this is the best thing a judge ever gets to do," Irwin said.

Irwin also said that by becoming citizens, immigrants honor the U.S. by being part of what all Americans believe is the greatest country in the world. And, he added, just because they are now citizens, no one expects them to forget their heritage, because diversity is what makes the U.S. so great.

Echoing that feeling was Lt. Col. David Jones, commanding officer of the Marine Wing Support Squadron 371, a former immigrant who became a citizen in 1987 and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy six years later.

He recalled when he was sworn in as an American, he saw a sea of faces from all over the world, but the one thing they all had in common was the love of becoming a citizen.

"America has provided me hope and freedom, and I stand here as a product of that opportunity," Jones said. "This country is a quilt of many threads, and the future holds what you can make of it."

Three of those sworn in Thursday addressed their fellow new citizens and the hundreds more of family supporters.

Eva Lucano, who arrived from Mexico six years ago, admitted she was nervous. Yet she noted, she now is married and has two children and a "handsome husband and I am very happy to be an American."

Francisco Javier Garcia, originally from San Luis Rio Colorado, Son, said it was the most important day of his life and he was also very happy.

Balancing English as a second language classes and working at the Saguaro Foundation, Daniela Miranda said she was very proud to be sworn in as an American. Miranda, who works in early intervention with 2- and 3-year-old children with special needs, was very happy for the opportunity to study at Arizona Western College, she said.

One who did not get a chance to speak to the audience, but a documented immigrant living in the U.S. since 1976, Raymundo Ritchie said he has had many happy days but his swearing-in was the "most fantastic day of my life."

"I owe so much to the U.S.," Ritchie said. "I want to start paying back and be a proud citizen."

Ritchie works his own farm in San Luis, Ariz., where he grows cotton and wheat and also operates a storage business in Gadsden as well as buying and selling construction equipment.

"This is a great opportunity to become a part of this country," Ritchie said. "I recognize a lot of faces here. Even though it (swearing-in) made me cry a little, it was a wonderful day."

Marie Sebrechts, USCIS spokeswoman, encourages anyone eligible for citizenship to apply. "There is nothing to be intimidated by the process and you can easily get the information from our Web page."

However, Sebrechts cautioned, in order to become a documented immigrant, a person must get a green card in one of two primary ways: to be sponsored by an employer, or sponsored by a U.S. citizen or an immigrant who already has a green card.

Typically, there is a five-year waiting period for citizenship once a person gets a green card. For more information, people may check:
www.uscis.gov.

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William Roller can be reached at
wroller@yumasun.com or 539-6858.