16 take oath as newest US citizens

U.S. District Court for the NMI Magistrate Judge Heather L. Kennedy, Benton County Oregon District lawyer John M. Haroldson, and Immigration Services officer Teres U.S. District Court for the NMI Magistrate Judge Heather L. Kennedy, Benton County Oregon District lawyer John M. Haroldson, and Immigration Services officer Teresa Vega-Murietta pose for a group photo with the 16 new U.S. citizens during the naturalization ceremony at the District Court yesterday morning. FERDIE DE LA TORRE
a Vega-Murietta pose for a group photo with the 16 new U.S. citizens during the naturalization ceremony at the District Court yesterday morning. (Ferdie De La Torre)

For Oscar Rene Padilla Mejia, who is a native of Honduras, gaining his U.S. citizenship now allows him to vote and avail of its many other benefits.

Mejia, 28, got his citizenship because of his father, who obtained his citizenship a long time ago. Mejia first arrived Virginia in 2007 when he was 17 years old. That was where he met Kimberly Sablan, a resident of Saipan who was working there at that time.

Mejia and Sablan have three children together. When Sablan decided to return to Saipan with the children in 2010, Mejia followed them. Mejia currently works as a mechanic at Saipan Stevedore Co.

For Remy Leon Jean Lou Badier, who hails from Brittany, France, he considers Saipan to be his home now.

“This is my home actually now. I live on Saipan,” said the 55-year-old Badier, who first arrived in 2010.

Badier obtained his citizenship through his wife, Maria Theresa, a U.S. citizen. The couple have an apartment business on the island.

Mejia and Badier were among the 16 persons from five countries who became U.S. citizens during a naturalization ceremony at the U.S. District Court for the NMI yesterday morning.

Majority of the 16 were from the Philippines; the rest were from South Korea, People’s Republic of China, France, and Honduras.

U.S. District Court for the NMI Magistrate Judge Heather L. Kennedy presided over the ceremony.

John Haroldson, the first Latino elected to serve as district attorney for Benton County, Oregon, served as the guest speaker.

Haroldson is on Saipan for a two-day training offered for drug court professionals in the CNMI and Guam through the Adult Drug Court Training Initiative.

Haroldson said it’s a great honor just to share the moment with the new citizens. He shared the story of his family’s journey and his own journey to become Oregon’s district attorney.

“Today’s ceremony really touches my heart because of my own family’s journey, and my own journey in becoming the first Latino district attorney to serve the State of Oregon,” he said in an interview.

The son of a Scandinavian father and a Mexican mother, Haroldson was raised both in the Pacific Northwest and in Monterrey, Mexico. He has served as a prosecutor since 1988 and is a strong advocate for drug treatment court.

“I am Mexican and a U.S. citizen and, through that journey, I really came to appreciate what all these means and it’s so special to me to be here,” he said.

Haroldson counseled the new citizens to make their story known, to use their citizenship to be engaged and to share their talents.

Aside from Mejia and Badier, the other new citizens are Gabby Sotto Cabrera, Nelia Bagabaldo Espeleta, Barbara Apilado Galvez, Rufino Reyes Galvez, Nelly Notario Iglecias, Dan Daryl Timario Jovelo, Mercedes Aquino Landicho, Agnes Dela Cruz Manacop, Fernando Agulay Martin, Leonora Soliman Orpiano, Ulysses Bag Ao Orpiano, Congxiang Su Palacios, Choo Hwa Kang Saures, and Alicia Caro Zulueta.