Where dreams 'feel protected': 97 new citizens take Oath of Allegiance in Chicago
Ninety-seven new citizens from 34 countries swore allegiance to the U.S. at a ceremony Tuesday in the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
The group of new citizens is substantially smaller than the nearly 1,000 who were sworn in at Wrigley Field this time last year, and it's representative of a broader trend.
According to numbers provided by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the court administered fewer than 4,500 naturalizations in the first seven months of the year. That's roughly a quarter of the 16,580 it averaged for the same period over each of the past four years, and down over 75% from this time last year.
Over 300 more new citizens are expected to be naturalized at the State Fair in Springfield on Wednesday.
Edwin Yohnka, director of communications and public policy for the ACLU of Illinois, said that reduction is no accident, but rather the outcome of a deliberate design by the Trump administration.
"The Administration has nearly gutted the existing legal pathways to citizenship, all while IT actively tries to denaturalize people who have lived in and contributed to the United States for decades," Yohnka said in an email to Capitol News Illinois. "This reflects a reckless disregard for our national history and tradition, and for the positive economic and cultural impact that new citizens bring to our communities. The Administration's blind loathing of immigrants is doing harm to our nation that will take decades to repair."
The naturalization exam saw major revisions under the federal administration last October, when it expanded the pool of potential questions, shifted to a greater emphasis on U.S. history and the constitution, and increased the number of correct answers required to pass up to 12 out of 20 from the previous requirement for six out of 10.
A policy memorandum issued last August also instituted a new "wholistic assessment" requiring citizenship candidates to demonstrate "good moral character" through positive societal contributions, rather than just the absence of a criminal record.
In a statement, U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services spokesperson Zach Kahler said the change is reflective of a shift from the Biden administration, which he alleged "prioritized rubberstamping" applications with "minimal vetting."
"U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, under the leadership of President Trump, is implementing rigorous screening and vetting processes across the country," Kahler said. "USCIS will not take shortcuts in the naturalization process."
But for the 97 new citizens, it was a day of celebration.
American dreams
Josue Carranza, 26, came to the U.S. 12 years ago from his home country of Honduras. Though he said Honduras is a good country, Carranza said America provided more opportunities.
"This is the country for your dreams to come true, so that's the reason why I came here," Carranza said. "To start a new life in a country where my rights and my dreams, they feel protected."
Carranza, now a FedEx driver, dreams of opening a construction business and is currently studying for a masonry exam, a passion he developed through years of walking Chicago's streets and looking up at its historic brick buildings.
To open a business in Honduras would not have been possible for him, he said, due to gang violence and threats from criminal organizations. Now, he'll sit for his masonry exam in October.
For Maria de Los Angeles Marrufo, 49, becoming a citizen is all about getting the right to vote.
When she came to the U.S. from Mexico three decades ago, de Los Angeles Marrufo said she was single and looking for a better future. Now, her three adult children are grown, and it's time to do something for herself, she said. Becoming a U.S. citizen was part of that journey.
"I feel so blessed that I have this opportunity to become a citizen," de Los Angeles Marrufo said. "Now I have the opportunity to vote, so my voice is going to be heard. I'm so happy to be here."
Beyond filling out her application to vote in November, de Los Angeles Marrufo is planning to go back to school to become a teacher's aide after working as a manager at Popeyes for nearly 20 years. She loves kids, and wants to help them grow, she said.
Father-daughter pair Sandeep and Anshyka Dutta, 59 and 23 respectively, moved to the U.S. from India 12 years ago. The naturalization ceremony was emotional, they said.
"It's a feeling of loss and gain," Sandeep Dutta said. "You know, we just gave up something. We got something new. There's an emotion which I can't explain."
His daughter said she enjoyed the welcoming theme of the ceremony.
"I really liked that it was bringing together everything that you have in your life, your family, your ancestry, whatever it may be, and bringing it to America," Anshyka Dutta said. "I really like that sentiment because it makes me feel like I may be giving something up, but I'm not giving up who I am."
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.