Thread: 7,000 New US Citizens sworn in in Pomona, CA

http://ocregister.com/ocregister/hom...le_1149406.php


Saturday, May 20, 2006
A reason to celebrate
About 7,000 people are sworn in as new U.S. citizens in rites at the fairgrounds in Pomona.

By AMY TAXIN
The Orange County Register


CELEBRATION: Cevadne Lee of Tustin cheers after taking the oath to become an American citizen Friday at Fairplex, the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds. More people are filing applications to become naturalized citizens, the government says.

In two ceremonies Friday at the Pomona Fairplex, immigrants from 130 different countries became naturalized U.S. citizens.

The top four countries of birth for the 7,062 new citizens assigned to take their oath on Friday were:

Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services



POMONA – When Cevadne Lee looked out across the enormous pavilion filled with 3,500 immigrants holding little American flags, she knew her family's two-decade wait had come to an end.

After falling in and out of legal status since arriving from Venezuela, Lee's family got their green cards five years ago. On Friday, Lee took the final step in becoming a U.S. citizen when she swore her allegiance to the country she has called home since she was age 4.

"It's pretty overwhelming; I didn't expect this many people," said Lee, 23, of Tustin, clutching a voter-registration form and surveying the crowd assembled at the Pomona Fairplex to take the oath for citizenship. "Just looking at everyone – this is the face of America."

Every few weeks in Southern California, a similar naturalization ceremony is held – and they will mark the entry of more than 100,000 new citizens this year. On Friday, with the heated debate over immigration fresh in the Senate and in the streets, the ceremony took on added significance for many in the room.

"Everywhere you go, every time you turn on the radio and television, people are discussing immigration," U.S. District Court Judge Paul Abrams told the crowd after administering the oath. "By becoming citizens at this time, you're saying you believe in the ideals the United States stands for."

While outside the smell of grilled sausage wafted through the fairgrounds and vendors sold "USA" T-shirts, inside the building had been converted into a one-stop shop for citizenship.

New voters signing up

On one side of the room, the new citizens lined up to file voter-registration forms. On the other, they took passport photos and filed passport applications to receive their new travel documents in the mail.

Joe Edwards, Los Angeles County registrar election-services supervisor, said most new citizens sign up to vote right away – due to the convenience and the excitement over voting here for the first time.

At recent ceremonies for 2,700 naturalized citizens in Montebello, 71 percent signed up to vote immediately, he said. The registrar receives applications for seven California counties and distributes them.

"This is the first time people have registered to vote, and I think they're all hyped up," he said, explaining the reason for the high number of registrations. "They want to get that one out of office and put that one in – they want to make a difference."

Aurelio Tinio, a computer-science student at UCLA, said his mother was eager to cast her first vote for governor after seeing all the ads on TV. Tinio, 24, said he too will soon apply for citizenship, hoping he'll be eligible for more jobs – like those in the defense industry – than with a green card.

Tinio, who was born in the Philippines, said he can see both sides of the current immigration debate – especially since his family lost its legal status years ago after their visas expired.

"I feel for the people who want to get pardoned or whatnot because I was there. I can empathize with them," said Tinio, of Artesia. "At the same time, you have to respect the law. I sort of flip-flop between sides."

Picture with president

Outside the grounds of the Fairplex, Democrat and Republican representatives set up tables to register any stragglers who failed to sign up to vote inside. Both were eager to sign up voters before Monday – the deadline for people to register to vote in the June 6 election.

The Republicans offered to take registrants' pictures with a cardboard image of President George W. Bush and send it to them via e-mail "to make it more of a special occasion," said Francisco Martinez, who manned one of the party's tables.

Lee said the next step is for her parents, who immigrated to Venezuela from Hong Kong in the 1970s and then to the United States, to become U.S. citizens. While they have their green cards, they must improve their English first to pass the required tests.

For now, Lee was touched to join a room filled with people who, like herself, had chosen U.S. citizenship.

"When I was in line, I was hearing all these different languages," she said. "I think it's great seeing all the (people of) different nationalities being able to become American citizens."
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That's entirely too many people in a city the size of Pomona. I
shudder to think of what the numbers are in LA county.

I am glad they did it the legal way, that is why we can not afford to have 20 million illegals living here.