[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 7, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E3]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                CONGRATULATING AMERICA'S NEWEST CITIZENS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 7, 2020

  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure and sincerity 
that I take this time to congratulate thirty individuals who will take 
their oaths of citizenship on January 10, 2020. This memorable occasion 
will be 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 10, 2020, the following people, representing many nations 
throughout the world, will take their oaths of citizenship in Hammond, 
Indiana: Melissa June Licupa Pineda, Alexis Almaraz Fierro, Katelyn 
Alyousif, Rosaura Virginia Gonzalez, Blanca Carrasco, Maria Guadalupe 
Murillo, Jacqueline Angelica Terry Palacios, Jovanny Las Pinas Minton, 
Samuel Obiora Izuora, Alicia Cerda, Brenda Cerda, Ignacio Cerda Avalos, 
Horacio Joseph Vazquez, Kelly-Sue Stone, My Thi Hoa Pham, Maria Elisa 
Tirado, Arturo Miranda, Jr., Komo Yawa Ouattara, Victoria Izuora, Olena 
Gorbatenko Therrien, Yulia Vladimir Vorobiev, Alexander Nicholas 
Vorobiev, Oscar Esteban Magallanes, Liz Chacon, Gerardo Miranda, Edsys 
Nohemy Yoder, Nga Thu Pham, Myra Espinosa O'Lena, Gertrude N. Manda, 
and Carl Peter Zmijewski.
   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.
   Madam Speaker, I respectfully ask you and my other distinguished 
colleagues to join me in congratulating these individuals who will 
become citizens of the United States of America on January 10, 2020. 
They, too, will be 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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