In front a large American flag backdrop, Serigne Ndiaye stood in
front of his fellow American citizens and led them in the Pledge of
Allegiance.
In front a large American flag backdrop, Serigne Ndiaye stood in front of his fellow American citizens and led them in the Pledge of Allegiance.
The pledge was special for Ndiaye because it was a moment 14 years in the making. He was finally an American citizen, and it was the best way to celebrate his new citizenship.
“It was a big honor,” he said. “It makes me feel important.”
It was a “long road” for the 34-year-old Ndiaye in becoming an American citizen, he said. It started in 1996, when he came over from Senegal to start a new life for himself and his family.
He came to America for the opportunity to provide for his family, which stayed behind in Senegal, he said. He hoped to become a citizen and eventually bring them to America.
“This means a lot to me,” he said. “I can make a better life for me and my family. I can bring them to America.”
Fourteen years later, with the help of Congressman Sam Farr’s office along the way, Ndiaye is finally a citizen and his wife and daughter are coming soon.
“I’m going to fill out the papers soon, and send for my family,” he said.
Ndiaye was one of 49 people from nine different countries around the world who were sworn in as American citizens in an hour-long nationalization ceremony Wednesday at the Hollister Municipal Airport. In a celebration of the Fourth of July and the accomplishments of each new citizen, the ceremony is done only once a year for this area that includes the counties of San Benito, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara and Monterey. There were no Hollister residents sworn in during Wednesday’s ceremony.
To become an American citizen through naturalization, immigrants are required to be older than 18, must have legally entered the country, reside in the country and have “good moral character.” Immigrants are also required to know about the history of the U.S. and its government.
Each year around 600,000 immigrants are rewarded citizenship through naturalization ceremonies.
Similar ceremonies are held monthly in Campbell, where nearly 1,200 people are given citizenship, but the those ceremonies don’t compare, said Sharon Rummery, northwest regional media manager of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
“This is a special ceremony,” she said. “People tell us that this day is as important as the day their first child was born.”
And the 49 new citizens showed that pride throughout the ceremony.
Clutching small American flags, the new citizens proudly sang the National Anthem and followed Ndiaye in the Pledge of Allegiance. Following the Oath of Allegiance, which officially declares the residents as American citizens, a loud standing ovation was given.
Keynote speaker Farr addressed the crowd, congratulating them on their achievement and telling the new citizens about the opportunities of being an American.
“It brings vast opportunities but also a fundamental responsibility,” Farr said. “It comes with the responsibility, as citizens, to makes our country better.”
Immigrants are the backbone of the country and helped build it to what is today, he said. Becoming a citizen gives people the chance to “enrich their lives and enrich the country.”
“It is a land of freedom, possibilities and dreams,” he said. “Each of you is what makes American great.”
Farr hoped the new citizens would continue trying to reach their dream, he said.
“Today is the end of this process but it’s the beginning of a new journey,” he said.
Gus Reece of the U.S. Postal Service told the new citizens to remember everyone came from immigrants.
“We are all products of immigrants,” he said.
Fidel Soto of Univision Channel 67 called himself proof that America was the land of dreams and opportunities. As a student in Mexico in the 1970s, he wanted to move to America to get a new life.
“I came to the United States and oh my God it was so different,” he said.
He spent five years waking up at 3 a.m. and working in fields in the King City area, Soto said, and it was hard.
“I wanted to do something different,” he said.
In 1979, he started his career in broadcast media working as a disc jockey in Hollister and eventually Univision Channel 10 in Modesto – he later moved to Univision Channel 67 in 1987.
But it was 1985 in Modesto when Soto finally decided to become a citizen because of the opportunities he knew it would give him.
“No other place can give you the same opportunities,” he said “Only here can you go from working in the fields to being on T.V. What other place can you do that?”
But for each person, the reasons to become a citizen are different, Farr said. They all came to America for the same reason, but they will all chase different dreams and opportunities.
“They are all different in many ways,” he said. “But they are all American.”
