All of us, as immigrants, have helped to create and define this country, and the contributions that we make through our hard work and dedication have made this country better for all of us, and for future generations.
Centro San Juan Diego recognized a group of new citizens in a ceremony on December 2, 2023. While the citizenship program has long been a cornerstone of Centro’s programming and efforts to facilitate immigrants’ integration into their local and national communities, this event marked the first-ever formal celebration of students who have completed the long, and sometimes arduous, process of becoming U.S. citizens.
From 2022 to 2023, 26 students reported that they had become citizens thanks, in part, to the preparation classes they took at Centro which are offered in both English and Spanish depending on students’ age and legal permanent resident status.
In addition to several of these students, two representatives from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) office in Centennial, Colorado, and two local judges also attended the ceremony to congratulate the newest citizens and provide some additional inspiration.
Judge Carlos Samour, a current justice on the Colorado Supreme Court, shared the moving story of his own family’s migration from El Salvador to the United States. Escaping rapidly escalating political turmoil, Samour’s parents and their 12 children packed their family’s van, “literally overnight,” he recalls, and moved to the United States when he was just 13 years old.
“If I can do this, then eventually, so can you,” he said. “Through hard work and faith you really can achieve anything,” he concluded.
Nancy Luévano, a Mexican immigrant and now U.S. citizen, also addressed her fellow citizens during the ceremony:
“All of us, as immigrants, have helped to create and define this country, and the contributions that we make through our hard work and dedication have made this country better for all of us, and for future generations,” she said.
Centro San Juan Diego couldn’t agree more! Congratulations, Nancy, and all new citizens, whose decision to become more integral, permanent members of this country will surely continue to bear great fruit!
