Chief Judge Robert Katzmann of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit addresses new citizens at a naturalization ceremony held Wednesday at the Thurgood Marshall Federal Courthouse. The 80 new citizens from 31 countries were among 8,500 sworn in by federal judges at about 30 ceremonies across the country to mark the judiciary’s celebration of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.
Katzmann recalled his own family’s immigrant heritage, including a father persecuted by Nazi Germany. “No event in a courthouse is more moving than the swearing in of new citizens,” he said. “They’ve passed every test. They know more about this country and its laws than most citizens born in this country. And knowing how immigrants have made this country great, as the son of an immigrant and the grandson of an immigrant … it’s especially moving to me to welcome these extraordinary people to our country as citizens.”
