New Americans Welcomed After Kids-Only Naturalization Ceremony
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4)- Santiago Abarca and his brother Alexandro are from Peru. Last year, they moved to the United States to live with their father and step mother who are American citizens.
Santiago remembers, "It was a really long travel. It was 16 hours and we were tired."
They came because they see the U.S. as the land of opportunity and they want to get a better education.
"I wanted to study here. I want to study architecture so that was my plan," says Santiago.
On Friday after a year of waiting, their dreams started coming true. They, along with 34 other children became U.S. citizens.
A kids-only naturalization ceremony like the one held of Friday is rare, there are only a couple of them each year. A total of 36 children from 18 countries became citizens Friday. Some of them have been adopted, and some of them have parents who are already citizens like the Abarcas.
Erik, Alejandro and Santiago's father, became a citizen 10 years ago.
Even though all of these children have a different story, there are now two things they have in common. They are Americans and they have parents who couldn't be happier for them.
Erik Abarca says of his sons, "I'm proud of them because [it was] a big step for them to move to this country from another country and adjust to all the changes."
Santiago Abarca is currently a senior at Legacy High School and hopes to attend CU Denver next fall to study architecture.
Michael Abeyta is a 4th generation Coloradan and a Multimedia Journalist for CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 5 & 6. He is on Twitter! Follow him @AbeytaCBS4.