[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 96 (Monday, July 8, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1013]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            JULY 4, 2013 NATURALIZATION CEREMONY IN HAMMOND

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                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, July 8, 2013

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure and sincerity 
that I take this time to congratulate the individuals who took their 
oaths of citizenship on July 4, 2013. In true patriotic fashion, on the 
day of our great Nation's celebration of independence, a naturalization 
ceremony took place, welcoming new citizens of the United States of 
America. This memorable occasion, coordinated by the League of Women 
Voters of the Calumet Area and presided over by Magistrate Judge Andrew 
Rodovich, was held at The Pavilion at Wolf Lake in Hammond, Indiana.
   America is a country founded by immigrants. From its beginning, 
settlers have come from countries around the globe to the United States 
in search of better lives for their families. The oath ceremony is a 
shining example of what is so great about the United States of 
America--that people from all over the world can come together and 
unite as members of a free, democratic nation. These individuals 
realize that nowhere else in the world offers a better opportunity for 
success than here in America.
   On July 4, 2013, the following people, representing many nations 
throughout the world, took their oaths of citizenship in Hammond, 
Indiana: Chong Ran Embury, Weiping Zhong, Boyanka Radeva Odiseeva, 
Olena Mykhailivna Rogers, Izabela Zuzanna Mazur, Kavita Goyal, Pooja 
Goyal, Yoshiko Tonosaki Simpson, Nora Mardi, Margarita Figueroa De 
Cornejo, Syed Durvesh Mohiuddin, Eunice Childress, Rafael Navarro 
Gomez, Justyna Ksiazek, James Lisitsas, Yvonne Monalisa Odemba, 
Dragoljub Martinovic, Elizabeth Anne Robinson, Danute Jackson, Daniela 
Gotis, Edgardo Reyes Eliscupides, Sergio Hernandez Romo, Lynn 
Bouziotis, Nancy Alondra Gallardo, Jose Guadalupe Gonzalez Zambrano, 
Fadma Alburei, Maria Nazare Barros Bezerra, Liliana Guadalupe Brady, 
Norma Angelica Camarillo, Adrian Ferrer, Angel Giron, Vandana Mona 
Graham, Michael Ikechukwu Ibekie, Marija Klechkaroski, Maria Leanos 
Mota, Guillermina Lopez, Mauricio Lopez, Himelda Morua, Syeda Vajahath 
Muhiuddin, Antonio Ochoa, Cristina Pellegrini Rath, Amrit Pal Singh 
Sarai, Amela Spahic, Salvador Tinoco, Angela Arutiunovna Tonoyan-
Hopkins, Huseyin Salih Usak, Ana Luisa Vargas, Genoveva Viramontes, and 
Jennifer Zhang.
   Though each individual has sought to become a citizen of the United 
States for his or her own reasons, be it for education, occupation, or 
to offer their loved ones better lives, each is inspired by the fact 
that the United States of America is, as Abraham Lincoln described it, 
a country ``. . . of the people, by the people, and for the people.'' 
They realize that the United States is truly a free nation. By seeking 
American citizenship, they have made the decision that they want to 
live in a place where, as guaranteed by the First Amendment of the Bill 
of Rights, they can practice religion as they choose, speak their minds 
without fear of punishment, and assemble in peaceful protest should 
they choose to do so.
   Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my other distinguished colleagues to join 
me in congratulating these individuals, who became citizens of the 
United States of America on July 4, 2013, the day of our Nation's 
independence. As American citizens, they are guaranteed the inalienable 
rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We, as a free 
and democratic nation, congratulate them and welcome them.

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