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11 new citizens sworn in
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Posted on May 06 2019
U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona, U.S. Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the NMI Shawn N. Aderson, and Immigration Services officer Shelia Kelty join 11 new U.S. citizens for a group photo during a naturalization ceremony yesterday. (Ferdie De La Torre)
YaFan Li, who first arrived on Saipan in 1997, as a garment factory worker from China, now considers the CNMI and the U.S. mainland her home. That personal belief became a reality last week when she was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in a ceremony at the federal court last Wednesday.
Li was one of 11 persons who took their oath before U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona. The new citizens were originally from China, the Philippines, Bangladesh, South Korea, and Thailand.
U.S. Attorney for Districts of Guam and the NMI Shawn D. Anderson served as the guest speaker at the ceremony in conjunction with the Law Day celebration.
Li, who has an adult child, was naturalized through her marriage to her former husband. She currently works in sales at Joeten Garapan.
Couple Arthur Dela Cruz Santos and Perlita Tolentino Santos, both originally from the Philippines, are both happy to obtain their U.S. citizenship as they have three children born here—ages 14, 12, and 7.
Arthur Santos, who hails from Pampanga, has been working on Saipan for almost 20 years now. He came on the island in 1997 as a waiter. He is currently an F&B supervisor at Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan.
Perlita Santos, who is originally from Muntinlupa, first came to the island in 2002 as a budget officer at TanHoldings Corp. She got a special green card through her job at a previous employer. She is currently a comptroller at the Commonwealth Health Care Corp.
As guest speaker at Wednesday’s ceremony, Anderson shared his personal perspective about naturalized citizens, coming from a family of immigrants.
Anderson said it was Manglona who asked him to stop by and give remarks at the naturalization ceremony, which also happens to occur during the celebration of Law Day.
Anderson said the theme of this year’s Law Day is free speech, free press, and free society, which is very important in a democratic country.
The U.S. mainland recognizes May 1, 2019, as National Law Day.
The other new citizens are Hyunjoung Ahn, Sirirat Somket Castro, Jennalyn Betonio De Leon, Aiza Yco Garcia, April Degamo Manglona, Lilia Carillo Pangelinan, Rodrigo Manalo San Pedro, and MD Abdul Wahed.
