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Editorial: Incoming over outgoing
Op-Ed · September 15, 2016
On Friday, West Branch will mark the 10th year hosting a naturalization ceremony on the lawn just east of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library-Museum.
This year, U.S. Senator Joni Ernst will speak in person, a rarity as elected officials often send staff to deliver their remarks.
In formally announcing the ceremony, the Library-Museum notes that the previous nine events welcomed 681 immigrants to U.S. citizenship. At an average of 75 or 76 new citizens a year, that is just one-hundredth of 1 percent of the 653,000 naturalized in 2014, the most recent figure made available by the Department of Homeland Security. Lots of people want to become American citizens.
Hundreds of naturalization ceremonies take place across the United States every year, with many taking place on Constitution Day, like the one at the Library-Museum this Friday.
Also as of 2014, the number of naturalized citizens rose to about 20 million, 53 percent of whom became citizens after 2000, according to MigrationPolicy.org. That means they make up about 6.27 percent of the U.S. population.
The number of naturalized citizens exceeds the population of every individual U.S. state except Texas (26.4 million) and California (38.3 million).
To apply for citizenship, immigrants must reach at least 18 years old; possess a green card to prove lawful permanent residency; live in America for at least five years; physically present in the United State for at least 30 months; “be a person of good moral character”; speak, read, write and understand English; know U.S. government and history; and be willing and able to take the Oath of Allegiance, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
That last part, the Oath of Allegiance, takes place here on Friday at 1:30 p.m. As the immigrants are attending a federal court hearing, the event is a formal occasion. Many wear suits and dresses, but also due to the fact that this is nothing short of a monumental personal milestone.
Imagine standing in their place, in another country like Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sudan, Russia or Ethiopia. If none of these appeal to you, perhaps you would prefer Italy, the United Kingdom, Australia or China. West Branch hosted people from all of these countries who would rather live in America and be a citizen.
Despite celebrities swearing they will move to Canada depending on whom American voters choose for its next president, last year only 4,279 people emigrated from the United States, according to CNNMoney.com, and that is actually 20 percent higher than 2014. In other words, the number of people officially coming to America outnumber those officially leaving by more than 150 to 1.
America attracts so many people with its offer of freedom, civil liberties and equality of opportunity, its another reason to express pride in the fact that West Branch served as a gateway to citizenship for the past decade.
Thank you to the Hoover Complex for bringing such a meaningful event to our city.
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