33 new citizens sworn in, join American family

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona, second from left, poses with the new citizens and Dr. Jonathan Liwag after yesterday’s swearing in ceremonies at the U.S. Courthouse. (CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS)

The U.S District Court for the NMI swore in 33 new U.S citizens yesterday during a two-part naturalization ceremony.

U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona led both swearing in ceremonies yesterday for the new citizens. The ceremonies were divided in two in able to follow COVID-19 safety protocols.

The first batch of naturalized citizens include Aileen Mendoza Agana, Momrej Bhuiyan, Edelina Herrera Borja, Giselle Adlawan Butalid, Ponciano Pascua Corotan, Elisa Mariquit Cuaresma, Joselito Narag Golingo, Alexander Sison Gozon, Elizabeth Sanchez Gozon, Zenaida Degracia Hernandez, Hyung Jin Kim, Francia Copino Manait, Adelita Hayagan Molina, Femie Yesca Rey, Kyeong Hee Seo, Alexander Vekhov, Lolita Endaya Velasco, and Zhanru Yin.

The second batch of naturalized citizens were Donna Marie Ada, Bruno Garillo Alvarez, Gemma Buetizon Babauta, Shuji Li Chang, Eva Guerrero, Genoveva Hocog, Mingshun Norita, Donald Power, Rhose Ann Joy Caluya Prado, Janet Agra Sablan, Josephine Larot Santos, Ruby Santos, Angelo Sebio, and Cheng Shao.

Meanwhile, Dr. Jonathan Liwag, who is the U.S. District Court for the NMI’s Information Technology security officer, served as both ceremony’s guest speaker where he inspired his fellow naturalized citizens to love and protect the country they have sworn their allegiance to while continuing to enrich it with their cultures.

“I was not born a citizen of this country. But I came to Saipan when I was very young and learned the principles and values of being an American. As a young boy, I joined the Boy Scouts of America. I recited the Pledge of Allegiance, and the words were etched in my memory. I experienced firsthand the concepts of liberty even before I knew anything about immigration and laws. We did not leave everything behind; we also brought with us our cultures that enrich this society. You have come all this way and made this country your home, so you must protect it. You have sworn allegiance to protect our way of life,” he said.

Liwag also encouraged them to carry out their new civic duties. “There are other ways to serve this nation; one is doing our civic duty, such as voting and jury service,” he said.

Liwag left the group with a quote by Judge William F. Kuntz, a U.S. District Court Judge, to remind them that the contributions of people like them are what makes the United States such a powerful country” “‘We are a beautiful substantive and powerful nation because of what you have contributed and because of what you will contribute.’ Once again, congratulations, my fellow Americans,” he said.