Families and friends of soon-to-be-citizens gathered to watch the naturalization ceremony at Sagamore Hill. With the 250th anniversary of the United States coming in the following days, Theodore Roosevelt’s “Summer White House” was awash with patriotism as the 52 citizenship candidates collected their certificates among the sea of applause from their friends and family.
The July 1 event was hosted by the Honorable Robert A. Kaufman Justice For All: Courts and the Community Initiative, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The ceremony opened with a few speeches, including a keynote remark from Nusrat J. Choudruy, United States district judge for the Eastern District of New York, who shared her experiences growing up with immigrant parents and rising to success as the first Muslim woman and Bangladeshi-American in United States history to serve as a federal judge. A following speech was given by one of the citizenship candidates, Varun Sachdeva, who served in the U.S Navy.
Judge James M. Wicks called up the names of each candidate to collect their certificate as a U.S citizen, and Judge Joseph F. Bianco administered the Oath of Allegiance to the 52 candidates.
The ceremony concluded with a musical performance of “America the Beautiful.” This event changed the lives of 52 citizens from 24 countries, who left Sagamore Hill together as 52 Americans.
