Dallas City Hall hosts Naturalization Ceremony for Dallas Residents
In celebration of Immigrant Heritage Month and Flag Day, the City of Dallas hosted a naturalization ceremony in collaboration with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Thirty Dallas residents from 15 different countries swore their Oath of Allegiance and became naturalized US citizens.
“On behalf of the City of Dallas, we are pleased to partner with USCIS as we recognize our community’s newest US citizens in our Dallas City Hall,” said Assistant City Manager, Liz Cedillo-Pereira. “As part of the Welcoming Dallas Strategic Plan, the City of Dallas aims to increase the number of Dallas immigrants who become naturalized U.S. citizens.”
Dallas County Commissioner, Elba Garcia served as guest speaker, sharing her experience in becoming a naturalized citizen herself and previously serving as Dallas City Council. Following the ceremony, Mi Familia Vota aided with voter registration and the Dallas Public Library provided information for ceremony guests on local resources related to ESL and civic classes to distribute among their family, friend and neighborhood networks.
“Multiple City of Dallas departments came together to make this event accessible and memorable for our Dallas residents because we know immigrants are an important part of our communities.” said Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs Division Officer, Christina da Silva. “We hope that we can continue partnering with community organizations and agencies such as USCIS to promote naturalization.”
A recording of the naturalization ceremony can be viewed here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRcXJxfAF_4
For more information on how to become a naturalized citizen, Welcoming Communities and Immigrant Affairs Division has developed a list of federally recognized nonprofit organizations in Dallas that that have been BIA accredited to provide free or low-cost legal assistance to submit the N400 application to become a naturalized US citizen. The public can view this list via this link bit.ly/Dallascitizenship or call the WCIA phone number 214-671-5087 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to receive a referral.
