Community Corner
New Citizens Sworn In at Portsmouth Ceremony
A Fourth of July naturalization ceremony was held at Strawbery Banke.
New American citizens were honored Thursday during a Fourth of July naturalization ceremony at Strawbery Banke.
The ceremony recognized 125 new citizens from 57 countries.
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One of the new citizens was Rui Guilherme, a 56-year-old who came to America from Portugal when he was 13. He now has five children and lives in Derry.
"I'm looking forward to voting," he said.
U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, was on hand for the ceremony.
"You will strengthen this country," she told the new citizens. "Your hard work will bolster our economy and create jobs."
Shaheen then talked about how she voted for an immigration reform bill last week. New Hampshire's other U.S. senator, Republican Kelly Ayotte, also voted for the bill.
"The current immigration system is broken and it must be fixed," Shaheen said.
The bill provides a "path to citizenship" for some 11 million undocumented immigrants while tightening border security, Shaheen said.
Anthony Violanti, of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Field Office, administered the Oath of Allegiance during the ceremony. A pre-recorded message by President Obama was played over the sound system.
Similar naturalization ceremonies were held across the country this week, recognizing about 8,000 new citizens. Updates and photos from the events were tagged #july4natz on social media sites.
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