[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12869-12870]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




              RECOGNIZING NORTHWEST INDIANA'S NEW CITIZENS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. PETER J. VISCLOSKY

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, September 5, 2017

  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, August 11, 2017. This memorable 
occasion, presided over by Magistrate Judge John E. Martin, 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 August 11, 2017, the following people, representing many nations 
throughout the world, took their oaths of citizenship in Hammond, 
Indiana: Feda Izzedin Aljobeh, Mahmoud Ibrahim Almakharza, Mosa Maher 
Awad, Roberto Barraza, Manuel de Jesus Castaneda, Maria Arminda de 
Leon, Jose Jorge Garcia, Lucio Chan Gudmalin, Wendy Lane Harris, Nora 
Ibrahim, Delia Ruiz, Ma Olivia Avila de Torres, Eduardo Torres, Victor 
Hugo Vargas Sanchez, Jose Jesus Vargas, Cayetano Ontiveros Rodriguez, 
Silvia Andrea Alvarez, Guijuan Niu, Shanqin Chen, Hamida Brkovic, Eric 
Kwadwo Ofori, Ling Zhou, Jose Luis Castro Vazquez, Julio Alvarez 
Gonzalez, Hong Tuyet Thi Nguyen, Juana Irma Diez de Sollano Garcia, 
Ruth Mwihaki Chege, Jose Martin Hernandez, Hannah Rose Babbini, and 
Prabhakar Himatram Jani.
  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

[[Page 12870]]

congratulating these individuals who became citizens of the United 
States of America on August 11, 2017. They, too, are American citizens, 
and they, too, 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.

                          ____________________