On July 4, 75 new citizens from 41 countries took the Oath of Allegiance at Monticello during the 54th Annual Independence Day Celebration. .
The event is the longest-running naturalization ceremony conducted outside of a courtroom.
Former Justice of the Supreme Court of Virginia John Thomas opened the ceremony by reading of a brief excerpt from the Declaration of Independence.
President of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation Leslie Greene Bowman said Jefferson’s vision that all men were created equal was a radical statement in 1776.
“Never before had a nation been born out of ideas, rather than force or ethnicity, and a merely revolutionary document, Jefferson embedded fundamental principles of liberty, equality, self-government, and this is all that binds us together as Americans today, ideas that we hold here,” Bowman said.
Founder and Director of the Center for Politics at the University Larry Sabato spoke at the ceremony.
He reminded the crowd about both the limits and the extraordinary achievements of Thomas Jefferson in his efforts of establishing the nation.
“Yes, his vision of liberty was regrettably restricted to one race and one gender. He was imperfect, as we all are, and a man limited by his times,” Sabato said “Yet his virtues and accomplishments far outweigh his vices and failures.”
Sabato also celebrated each new citizen’s distinctive experience and invited them to exercise their political rights in the United States.
“Politics in America is a good and necessary thing,” Sabato said. “You can shake things up by speaking up, starting a petition, organizing your neighbors, backing a candidate for office, or running yourself.”
Sabato added that voting is part of a citizen’s civic duty and encouraged the new citizens to register to vote.
Western District of Virginia Judge Glen Conrad said the ceremony — witnessing a new group become U.S citizens each year — was one of the district court’s greatest traditions.
Conrad said the ceremony represented the collaboration of all three branches of the government — the executive, judicial, and legislative sides.
“The legislative branch makes those laws that govern the admission of new citizens and determination of who is eligible. We have a representative from the U.S. Congress today, [which is] part of that legislative branch,” Conrad said. “Congressman Hurt is a strong supporter of the immigration and naturalization program.”
Congressman Robert Hurt welcomed the new citizens and encouraged them to embrace the country and look for ways to build it up.
Near the end of the ceremony, some of the new citizens shared their stories and their feelings at being granted citizenship in the United States.
Kimberly Monge-Ferra said she came to the United States 16 years ago when she was only 12 years old. Monge-Ferra showed gratitude to her mother, who had worked overnight shifts to raise three kids and now works as a teacher.
Judith Christian said she would register to vote for the first time after living in this nation for 25 years.
Another speaker said his parents came to the U.S. in 1960s, and he had been a Virginia resident for 37 years. He said the ceremony reaffirmed his sense of responsibility to America.
Bowman ended the ceremony urging the audience to make their citizenship count and participate in national affairs with enthusiasm.
The ceremony was followed by a Jeffersonian Open House featuring a tour on the first floor of the House and music.
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