New U.S. Citizens Take Oath in San Angelo

SAN ANGELO, TX — Immigrants from six countries became United States citizens Wednesday morning during a naturalization ceremony at the O.C. Fisher Federal Building in downtown San Angelo.

The ceremony, hosted by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, was presided over by U.S. Magistrate Judge John R. Parker, who praised the new citizens for their perseverance and reflected on the meaning of American citizenship.

“This is a tremendous honor to be a witness to this,” Parker said. “All too often we tend to take for granted… how precious are the rights and the privileges and the responsibilities of being a United States citizen.”

The morning ceremony included 15 applicants who received their certificates of citizenship, representing Brazil, the Dominican Republic, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Mexico.

He also thanked the U.S. Marshal Service, court security officers, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officers who traveled from San Antonio to facilitate the ceremony.

In his address, Parker said that immigration has long been central to the nation’s growth and innovation.

“Half the founders of our Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants,” he said. “More than half of our tech startups and small businesses were started by immigrants, and over a third of our doctors came from other countries.”

Parker told the new citizens that American identity is defined not by origin but by shared ideals of liberty and justice.

“Freedom is not a state of being—it is an act,” he said. “Each generation must do its part to create a more fair and just society. You can’t just sit under a tree and be free—you have to get up every day and practice freedom.”

A second ceremony is scheduled for 1 p.m., where applicants from Cambodia, Nepal, the Philippines, Thailand, and Mexico will take the oath to become U.S. citizens.

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