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New Citizens Celebrate Naturalization with Voter Registration and President Trump Cutouts
Attending a naturalization ceremony is a big event for new citizens. They gain many freedoms and one critical responsibility—the right to vote. Some in Santa Clara County commemorate their new citizenship and voter registration with life-size cardboard cutouts of U.S. icons.
The Heritage Theatre in Campbell, California, has been a place for the monthly naturalization ceremonies in Santa Clara County. New citizens take their Oath of Allegiance to the United States and start their lives as U.S. citizens at this theater.
The days for the naturalization ceremonies are also days for political parties to reach out to recruit new members
Republicans and Democrats had their booths set up outside of the theater. At the Democrat booth, there was an image of the Statue of Liberty the size of a person, while at the Republican booth there were three life-size cutouts: President Trump, Trump with the first lady, and President Lincoln.
Some new citizens coming out of the ceremony stopped by, had their picture taken at the two booths, and signed up for the political party of their choice.
Santa Clara County is a part of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region with the majority of voters supporting the Democratic Party. However, the ongoing impeachment process driven by the Democrats has not stopped many new citizens from having their picture taken at the Republican booth.
Eugene Agor is from the Philippines. He has been in the United States for nine years. He came to the ceremony with his wife and told The Epoch Times that he has been waiting for this day for a long time. All four of his children were born in America, which made him the last U.S. citizen in the family of six.
Agor took his picture with President Trump’s cutout and signed up for the Republican Party. He said some of his family may not agree with what he did, but he likes President Trump simply because “President Trump is helping a lot of Americans.”
Rosa Cruz is from South America and has been in the United States for 18 years. Cruz felt very happy that finally she became a citizen and was able to vote. She said she liked both Republican and Democratic parties, and she only agreed with half of the Trump policies. However, she said she would support President Trump because the U.S. economy is good.
Gary Debling and his wife Sarah are from England. Gary works in the hi-tech industry. They are proud of England but decided to become U.S. citizens because they had an “amazing experience” in the incredible tech world in Silicon Valley.
They took their pictures with the presidents at the Republican booth but said they had not decided which party they were going to join.
Maria Velosangeles Mendozaperez came from Mexico with her parents and has been in the United State for more than 40 years. She started applying for her citizenship in 1998 but failed twice because the immigration office could not reach her after she moved. Finally, she made it through the process after she applied the third time in 2017.
Mendozaperez choked up when talking to The Epoch Times because her parents already passed away and were not able to join her to celebrate this big day in her life.
Mendozaperez said she had not made a decision which party she was going to join, but she stopped by the Republican booth to have her picture taken with her favorite president—Lincoln. She said that her other favorite president was Obama.
The Epoch Times interviewed Anna Kramer, the organizer who initiated the efforts to set up the booth and put out Trump’s cutout in front of the Heritage Theatre. She has been making similar events in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties since July. Kramer is a San Mateo County Republican Central Committee member.
“I have been a Republican since I became a citizen,” said Kramer, adding her favorite president was Ronald Reagan. She said she realized that the liberties and freedoms in the United States had been threatened when she saw people tore down the historical statues in the South. “To rewrite history is communist tactics,” Kramer commented.
She also criticized the mass media for being “always negative” against President Trump. “They won’t say anything good about President Trump. If they would have been a little more balanced about President Trump, I wouldn’t feel so threatened,” Kramer stated, adding “because they are so biased, I feel I need to come out and really stand up for what I believe in.”
Kramer came to America with her parents from Taiwan. Her father was a businessman who fled China when Chinese Communist Party took control over China. “I immigrated to this country for freedoms and liberties, but now they’ve been taken away,” Kramer asserted.
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