Naturalization event held at Newport Central Catholic High School confirms 57 legal immigrants as U.S. citizens

Bella Bailey

Multimedia Correspondent

Newport Central Catholic High School’s gymnasium was transformed into a court room, Sept. 19, as 57 legal immigrants, representing 24 nationalities, became United States citizens. The naturalization event was presided over by The Honorable David Bunning, chief judge of the Eastern District of Kentucky for the United States District Court, who is a 1984 graduate of NCC.

The process of becoming a United States citizen is not an easy one, with tests and interviews between applicants and officers, oftentimes the process is lengthy, last years.

Judge Bunning said of the applicants presented to him, “Each has met the requirements of law concerning the ability to read, write, speak and understand the English language. And, has further satisfied the United States Citizenship and Immigration services that he or she has a satisfactory knowledge of the history and the form of government of the United States.”

The applicants, spanning the globe, the furthest of whom coming from Cambodia, gathered in NCC’s gymnasium in front of friends, family and students to fulfill the quintessential “American dream.”

To the applicants, Judge Bunning shared the stories of the framers, many of whom faced consequences for their signing of the Declaration of Independence nearly 250 years ago.

“I chose to share their stories because, like them, each of you has denounced their homeland in the hopes of a better life and future for you and your families … You are not riled by a king or dictator, but by a democratic voting process, with three branches of government that serve as checks and balances on the other. And no less important, a guaranteed Bill of Rights, you are protected by the rule of law,” Judge Bunning said.

As each of the newly declared U.S. citizen were handed a small American flag, the symbol of freedom to many, the students of NCC clapped as loudly as the family and friends gathered.

Ken Collopy, principal of NCC, said, “We got a lot of great feedback from students and staff, just about how unique of an event it was … Overall a very, very positive event as far as the educational experience, learning the process of how legal immigrants become U.S. citizens.”

The decision to invite the students into the courtroom to witness the naturalization proceedings was an easy one, said Mr. Collopy.

“We are very much about the holistic education of students, it’s not just learning within your traditional classroom,” he said. “We really believe that education doesn’t have to happen in your traditional desk, it’s an experience. I feel strongly that students were able to get some of that at the event.”

As the new citizens waved their flags in the air, the words of Judge Bunning stayed ever present, “There is not more a profound sentence than this, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,’” he said. “These are far more than mere poetic words, but the underlying ideas that infuse every sentence of the Declaration that sustained this nation for almost 250 years.”