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Immigrants Become US Citizens in Paterson NJ Ceremony

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Immigrants Become US Citizens in Paterson NJ Ceremony

3 minute reading

Joe Malinconico
| Paterson Press

PATERSON – Minutes after becoming a U.S. citizen Thursday, Yesilbert Veras of Paterson filled out a voter registration form.

“I love America,” said Veras, one of 40 immigrants who received their naturalization papers at a citizenship ceremony in Great Falls on Thursday. “I want to vote,” he added.

Others who took the oath of allegiance followed Veras to the voter registration table. There was a woman from Costa Rica who came to this country 30 years ago. A man from the Dominican Republic who has been in Paterson for five years. A Bangladeshi woman living in Totowa.

By the end of the event, nearly 30 of the new citizens were also new voters, and many of them said they expected to vote in the Nov. 5 presidential election.

“I want to help my country,” said Carlos Moreno, explaining his eagerness to vote. “That’s what you do when you’re a citizen.”

Immigration and the presidential campaign

Veras, Moreno and others who became citizens at Thursday’s event said they have been following the battle for the White House between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Some of them were well aware that immigration has been one of the hot topics during a campaign in which people who are new to this country have been vilified and glorified.

Guillermo Rodríguez, who came from the Dominican Republic seven years ago, said he was frustrated by the Trump campaign’s statements about migrants. “Things are out of place when it comes to Republicans. I think we have more opportunities” with Harris.

Moreno agreed. “I think the Democrats’ focus on immigrants is better,” he said.

But Veras had a different take, saying he agreed with Trump’s claims that Democrats have made things easier for newcomers to this country.

“They’re giving all this help to immigrants, but not to the people who need it, U.S. citizens,” Veras said.

From Algeria to Ukraine, 16 countries represented

Thursday’s event focused on the ideals of democracy, rather than partisan political differences. Before taking the oath of citizenship, participants were asked to stand when they heard the name of their country of origin.

The call started with Algeria and ended with Ukraine. In total, 16 different countries were represented at the ceremony. The Dominican Republic had by far the largest contingent, with 19 new citizens of that nation.

In 2023, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services administered the oath of allegiance to more than 878,000 people, officials said. Dozens of these ceremonies in recent years have been held at national parks, including the Grand Canyon, Mount Rushmore, Ellis Island and Stonewall in New York City.

Laura Troy, president of the New Jersey chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, welcomed the new citizens in her speech during the ceremony.

“We believe in the strength that diversity brings to the nation,” Troy stated. “You have made our nation stronger by joining.”

The event featured some levity as Mayor Andre Sayegh, whose office had set up the voter registration table, led the new citizens in a karaoke rendition of “Coming to America” ​​by Neil Diamond. Those who didn’t sing, most of the people in the audience, waved miniature American flags in time to the music.

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