[F]orty immigrants from 23 countries who have made Vermont their home took the Oath of Allegiance to the United States on Tuesday, officially becoming U.S. citizens.
Joseta Rada Benedicto was one of them. Benedicto left the Philippines in search of better educational opportunities for her seven children. But it wasn’t easy: her sister-in-law petitioned for 24 years before Benedicto could come to the United States.
Now, she works a chef at the Genesis Healthcare rehab center in St. Albans. Benedicto said working in assisted living helps to make up for what she left behind: “I wanted to serve all those old people because I cannot serve my mom, because she’s in the Philippines.”
Since 2002, state officials have held a naturalization ceremony on or around the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. This year, Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and U.S. District Court Judge William Sessions spoke to the event’s significance.
“The message from these naturalization ceremonies is quite simple and straightforward,” Sessions told the crowd.
“They remind us that we are a nation of many different races, of different cultures, of different religions. And that we are all immigrants to this country, that our strength as a people lies in our diversity, and that our welcome to the world shall be forever preserved.”
“The biggest challenge all of us have,” said Welch, “is to be able to find a way to make the best of ourselves in a way that includes the ability to reach out and help other people.”
Another new citizen is Ibrahim Hussein Mohamed, who left Darfur in 2004. As a member of the Zaghawa tribe, he said, he was a constant target of government oppression in the turbulent region of Sudan. “You would be killed or in jail, just because of where you are from.”
Mohamed fled to Ghana, where he applied for asylum with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Six years later, he was placed in the U.S.
He flew to New York City, then came to Vermont the next day. Five years later, Mohamed helps run an electronics repair shop at the Burlington Town Center Mall.
“Some people think the U.S. is heaven, it’s an easy life, you can do whatever you like without putting in some energy and work,” he said. “But when I came here, I saw a lot of things are tough — you have to work hard to get what you’re looking for.”
Welch said after the ceremony that he sees these events in “complete contrast” to the national conversation about immigration policy.
Vermont’s lone representative to the U.S. House has been a vocal opponent of the Trump administration’s expanded enforcement policies. This June, he visited federal detention facilities in Texas during a national outcry over family separations at the southern border.
“A confident nation is not afraid of immigration,” he said. “You deal with border security, but that doesn’t become a reason you deprive the country of opportunity for folks who have a personal desire to embrace the goals of citizenship.”
U.S. citizens obtain rights that are not available to legal permanent residents. Citizens can vote in federal elections, become eligible for federal jobs, and travel in and out of the country with the freedom and certainty of a U.S. passport.
Outside Tuesday’s ceremony in the House chamber, volunteers helped Vermont’s newest citizens apply for passports and register to vote.
“I think it’s awesome,” Benedicto said of her new status. She plans to vote for the first time in the November election.
