Secretary of State Antony Blinken administered the oath of allegiance to 24 people from 17 different countries during a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Naturalization Ceremony Oct. 19 in Philadelphia.
Blinken was accompanied by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Douglass Benning as they attended the opening ceremony of a new Philadelphia Passport Agency, according to a news release.
“So finally, and simply put, I want to say thank you. Thank you for choosing us. Thank you for making that choice,” Blinken said, according to the release. “On behalf of the American people, let me be one of the first lucky people to say: Welcome home, my fellow Americans.”
The new citizens came from Albania, Belarus, Bhutan, China, Guinea, Honduras, Iraq, Jamaica, Liberia, Nepal, Philippines, Russia, South Korea, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Ukraine and Uzbekistan, the release reported.
The ceremony was held in the renovated Robert Nelson Cornelius Nix Sr. Federal Building. Blinken said Nix was the first black person to be elected to represent Philadelphia in Congress, serving the country 1956-79, according to the release. He fought for legislation on civil rights, including instating measures to end racial discrimination in the Armed Forces and working to secure voting rights.
“He dedicated himself to the idea that the story of America is one of growth, of inclusion, of constant renewal from within,” Blinken said, the release reported. He said each the 24 candidates for citizenship embodied the renewal to which Nix dedicated his career.
The candidates were asked to stand when their country of nationality was called before being presented to Blinken “on behalf of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services,” according to the release. He asked them to raise their right hand for the oath and congratulated them on their new citizenship.
