[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 4 (Monday, January 8, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E8]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                             OATH CEREMONY

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 8, 2018

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure and sincerity 
that I take this time to congratulate thirty individuals who took their 
oaths of citizenship on Friday, January 5, 2018. This memorable 
occasion was held at the United States Courthouse and Federal Building 
in Hammond, Indiana.
   America is a country founded by immigrants. From its beginning, 
settlers have come from countries around the world to the United States 
in search of better lives for their families. Oath ceremonies are 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 January 5, 2018, the following people, representing many nations 
throughout the world, took their oaths of citizenship in Hammond, 
Indiana: Drago Pupac, Branka Pupac, Diep Dinh Do, Asma Aftab, Niranjan 
Awasthi, Magdalena Anna Skupien, Claudio Eduardo Diaz Ayala, Maria 
Griselda Rodriguez Diaz, Carmela Velazquez, Florencia Stoll, Susan 
Pandey Joshi, Mamoon Arif Raza, Jayakumar Chockalingam, Syed Muhammad 
Aftab, Sergiy Igorovyc Mosendz, Leah Nyokabi Wambui, Heidie Principe 
Kuskye, Krystyna Zofia Kret, Chiamara Chibueze Ugochukwu Anokwute, 
Rubinely Calderon, Carlos Cortes, Andrea Gianelli Cunanan, J. Refugio 
Garcia, Marie Grace Healy, Manuel Herbert Leyva, Ume Ruman Khaja, Maria 
Marquez, Cristian Alberto Osoria, Amy Hui Ren, and Federico Santamaria.
   Although 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 Constitution, 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 respectfully ask you and my other distinguished 
colleagues to join me in congratulating these individuals who became 
citizens of the United States of America on January 5, 2018. They, too, 
are American citizens, 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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