Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Rand Beers today was joined by White House Cabinet Secretary and Assistant to the President Danielle Gray and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Director Alejandro Mayorkas to welcome 25 new U.S. citizens at a special naturalization ceremony held at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History.
Acting Secretary Beers administered the Oath of Allegiance to the newest United States citizens.
The new citizens naturalized during today’s ceremony hailed from: Bolivia, Bulgaria, Egypt, France, Ghana, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Sierra Leone, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Vietnam.
This special ceremony is one of more than 180 citizenship events being held across the country to celebrate Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. USCIS will welcome more than 18,000 new citizens during these celebrations, from September 16 through September 23. Museums, historic libraries, government landmarks and national park sites will provide the backdrop for this week-long celebration of citizenship and the achievements of our newest citizens.
Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is celebrated each year on Sept. 17 in remembrance of the signing of the Constitution in 1787. Since 1952, Citizenship Day has been celebrated in conjunction with Constitution Day. Congress first underscored the significance of U.S. citizenship in 1940, when it designated the third Sunday in May as “I Am an American Day.” In 2004, Congress changed the designation of this day to "Constitution Day and Citizenship Day."
For more information on this morning’s Naturalization Ceremony, visit here. And to learn more about USCIS’ Constitution Day and Citizenship Day Celebrations, visit here.