Welcome Remarks for the Bill of Rights Day Naturalization Ceremony
Good morning! Welcome to the Rotunda of the National Archives. Congratulations to America’s 40 newest citizens. I’m so very happy for you.
Thank you to the Friendship Public Charter School for that wonderful recitation of the Preamble to the Constitution.
And thank you to Chief Judge Beryl Howell for presiding over today’s ceremony.
The National Archives is proud to host this naturalization ceremony with the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the United States District Courts for the District of Columbia.
Today is the 231st anniversary of the Bill of Rights. President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed Bill of Rights Day on December 15, 1941. To my left is the Bill of Rights, the first 10 amendments to the Constitution. They spell out the basic personal rights and freedoms that are guaranteed to every American: freedom of speech, religion, and the press; the right to petition the government; and the right to due process of law and a speedy and fair trial. These rights are now your rights as new citizens.
Behind me is the original Constitution, which is the basis on which the United States Government is structured. In your oath of allegiance today, you pledged to uphold this Constitution.
To my right is the Declaration of Independence, the parchment that our Founding Fathers signed in 1776 in Philadelphia setting us free from England. It took courage for them to sign it. We have them to thank for many of the freedoms we enjoy today.
Together, these documents are the cornerstone of democracy in your new home.
Naturalization ceremony days are always my favorite days here at the National Archives, and I never fail to get emotional. There’s my sheer joy for you, our new citizens, and the promise that your journey represents. And I think about my own ancestors. My distant paternal ancestors, who fled failed revolutions in Germany and potato famine in Ireland in the mid-1800s.
And, more immediately, my beloved maternal grandparents, Maria Abad Martinez and Francisco Rodriguez Gil, who came to America in the 1930s for economic opportunities unavailable in their native Spain. Their immigration story heavily shaped my identity and my worldview. I wish they could see their granddaughter today, standing in front of America’s founding documents and welcoming new citizens, and know that she is grateful for their courage and their sacrifices.
So many Americans have stories like mine, and now you, our newly naturalized citizens, will have your own journey to share. We have billions of pages of records here at the National Archives. Becoming an American citizen makes you part of the National Archives too. Your naturalization records will one day be part of our holdings. And maybe someday your descendants will search our records and will discover your story.
Now I would like to introduce the Director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Ur Jaddou. Director Jaddou previously served as chief counsel at USCIS. Most recently, Ms. Jaddou was the director of DHS Watch, an America’s Voice-led project focused on good governance and accountability in the immigration system. She also served as an adjunct professor of law at American University’s Washington College of Law, and counsel at Potomac Law Group.
Please welcome Director Ur Jaddou…
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Now I would like to welcome Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. Secretary Cardona previously served as the Commissioner of Education in Connecticut, a position he held after being appointed by Governor Ned Lamont in August 2019. In this position, he faced the unprecedented challenge of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and led the safe school reopening efforts in Connecticut. Secretary Cardona served two decades as a public school educator in the City of Meriden. He began his career as an elementary teacher. He became a school principal in Meriden in 2003 where he led a school with outstanding programming for three- to five-year-olds, students that were bilingual, and students with sensory exceptionalities. He proudly served in this role for 10 years. In 2012, Miguel won the 2012 National Distinguished Principal Award for the State of Connecticut and the Outstanding Administrator Award from UCONN's Neag School of Education.
Please welcome Secretary Miguel Cardona…