125 new citizens take oath at Utah capitol

A woman from Iraq kisses her American flag after taking the oath of allegiance at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Newly naturalized Americans celebrate freedom, family

SALT LAKE CITY — Their reasons for wanting to become U.S. citizens were different — to join their families, to make it official after most of a lifetime spent here, for freedom.

But the expression on many faces of the 125 people from 43 countries who took an oath of allegiance in the state Capitol on Monday was the same look of pride and hope as they waved small American flags and accepted their certificates of naturalization.

“I’m feeling so good. I’m feeling free,” said Joao Morais, who was born in a Portuguese colony in Mozambique. He’s been in America since 2002 after arriving when his son was at school here. It took him about eight months to receive citizenship after he applied.

But Monday, he said, came after a long journey.

“I want to be free. I want to be free for everything. I don’t like communists, that’s why I came here,” he said. He fled Mozambique, to South Africa, to Portugal, to England, and finally arrived in the U.S.

Dulce Gonzalez, born in Mexico, saw Monday as an important step for her future. She’s been in America for 19 years, “basically my whole life.”

“Today was a big step for me, because I considered myself being an American just because I was raised here and I’ve been here all my life. Today’s where I actually made it official, and I can do bigger things from now on,” Gonzalez explained.

She said her mother has also applied for citizenship and will take the test in the coming week.

Ane Tuakalau, from Tonga, came to the U.S. in 1982, where she met her husband and eventually had six children. She decided last year to apply for citizenship when one of her daughters encouraged her to.

She said the ceremony meant a lot to her after all the time she’s spent in the U.S.

Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Candidates for U.S. citizenship take the oath of allegiance at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020.

After the ceremony — which included a performance of the national anthem, remarks by state legislators, the oath and the Pledge of Allegiance — many of the new citizens and their family members posed for photos with their certificates and flags. One woman from Iraq kissed her flag as her husband snapped a picture.

Galvin Clancey, who grew up in Canada, said he’s been in the U.S. for nearly 12 years.

“And I’ve just learned that this is where I feel most comfortable, this is my home, and this just felt like the most natural step to take. I don’t feel like I’m going to be leaving anytime soon,” Clancey explained.

“Today is, it’s important because I can feel like I’m part of the place I’m living in,” he said.

During the ceremony, Rep. Norm Thurston, R-Provo, urged the new citizens to take advantage of their right to participate in politics and their communities. Those rights set citizenship apart from permanent residency, he said.

“And so as a citizen, now I can actually have my voice be heard, I can contribute to it, I can feel like it’s more my home versus just a place that I happen to be living in,” Clancey said.

During the ceremony, he led the new citizens in the Pledge of Allegiance, calling it his “first public act of citizenship.”

The difficult part of Monday’s ceremony for Clancey was renouncing allegiance to his home country during the oath, but said he will still love Canada.

“You can love two countries, I think. That’s OK,” he said.

Ruben Catalana, from Argentina, chose to become a citizen, first, because his family is here, “and the second reason is a better life,” he said.

“It feels lucky,” Catalana said of receiving citizenship.

Scott G Winterton, Deseret News

Alexandra Pham takes a photo of Galvin Clancey after he took the oath of allegiance at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Monday, Jan. 6, 2020.

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