The circus atmosphere bursting through breathless reports of the President’s recent immigration order have triggered incomprehensible judicial rulings and slanderous accusations made by public officials whose loyalties are to anything but the law, our Constitution, and fellow American citizens. But amidst the turmoil of events punctuating President Trump’s third week in office, one rarely encounters depictions of the soundless heartbeats fluttering in the reverential tone that envelopes the ceremony of an individual becoming an American citizen on a legal basis.

I have been privileged to welcome a person who legally entered our country, after first accepting our embracing love as a member of our family when she and my son became married seven years ago. That is quite a story in itself, involving long-distance correspondence between her and my son, while she journeyed throughout Brazil giving lectures as a high-ranking employee of an international IT conglomerate, while my son finished a tour in Iraq, only to plunge into the morass in Afghanistan at FOB Shank. They finally met at a site approximately between these distant points—at a military base in Germany.

Again, so much to tell, so little space. Anyway, I asked my new daughter if she could please outline her experiences becoming an American citizen, a task she engaged with her typical thoroughness and intelligence. The documents came, along with her bullet-point summary of events. I pored over everything she sent me and concluded that her portfolio resisted editing; no way could I improve on her recounting of events. And to conserve space, I omitted some interesting parts, like her message to me and her excellent sketch of the courtroom, reproduced from memory.

This is Carolina’s summary of her experience. (Her name is pronounced Care-oh-LEEN-a.)

Naturalization Oath Ceremony

There are two types of Ceremonies. Mine was judicial.

• In a judicial ceremony, the court administers the Oath of Allegiance.
• In an administrative ceremony, USCIS administers the Oath of Allegiance.

My Judicial Ceremony:

• Ceremony took place in a courtroom in Richmond’s Courthouse
• It started at 11:30am
• No cell phones, no cameras allowed in the courthouse
• All participants were required to dress appropriately for the occasion – no jeans, T-shirts, shorts, or flip flops
• 69 applicants/immigrants were present for the oath
• 3 USCIS officers, 1 clerk of the court, 4 people from the Daughters of the American Revolution, 1 security officer were also present
• Lots of applicants from El Salvador, India, African continent, some from Mexico, two from Argentina, two from Brazil (myself and another lady), two from Egypt, one from Germany, one from Finland, one from Peru, among others.
• Applicants sat on the left side of the room and their family and friends sat on the right side
• A line was formed so each applicant could check-in, handing to USCIS officers their green cards and a questionnaire stating that since their interviews they haven’t committed any crimes, traveled abroad, been arrested, become associated with any organization, among others
• Each applicant received an envelope with a number; such number would define where the person would be sitting in the room (assigned seats)
• The envelope contained:
  – a letter from the President of the United States
  – the Oath of Allegiance, Pledge of Allegiance, The Star-Spangled Banner
  – The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States
  – The Flag Code
  – The Citizenship’s Almanac
  – Information on how to apply for a U.S. Passport
  – Information on voting in Federal Elections
  – Information on “what to do now that you are a U.S. citizen” (apply for a U.S. passport, update your social security card, register to vote, obtain a certificate of citizenship for your child, sponsor family members to come to the United States)
• Once all applicants had checked in and were sitting in their assigned seats, a few were called to see the USCIS officers again due to specifics in their application, such as legal name change
• When everyone was back in their seats, the clerk of the court went to talk to each applicant to learn how to pronounce their names correctly; he took notes as needed
• At 12:20 pm the clerk of the court said we would have a break; we could either stay in our seats or go for a drink of water or go to the bathroom. Everyone would have to be back at 12:40 pm at the latest, because the Judge would enter the courtroom for the oath around 1:00 pm
• Every child in the courtroom received an American flag from the hands of the Daughters of the Revolution, including Christian and Nicholas (her sons)
• At 12:40 pm, the clerk of the court announced that the ceremony was about to begin. At 1:00 pm, he asked all people in the room to stand up, and announced that the court was in session. The judge entered the courtroom soon after, and all the people sat down.
• The clerk said how many naturalization applicants were to be sworn in at the ceremony. He told the Judge that all applications were in good order. He requested name changes for some applicants and recommended that people take the oath so that they could become United States citizens. The Judge accepted the requests and asked all the applicants to stand.
• FYI — People can request name change when they apply for naturalization. A person called “Uhuburundi” may want to become “John”. New life, new name.
• The clerk of the court introduced each one of us immigrants by name and country. We would each rise and the Judge would wave a “hello” to us.
  – The clerk calls “Carolina Mendes Folkertsma, Brazil”
  – I rise
  – Judge waves
  – I sit down
  – Person next to me is called
  – So on, so forth, until all 69 applicants are presented
• All rise. The judge gave the applicants the oath of allegiance. He asked the applicants to repeat by reading the oath after him. Everyone raised their right hand and said the Oath of Allegiance after the Judge
• All the people sat down. The Judge gave a brief speech. He said that this country is made of Immigrants and each person in the room would have something to contribute to the United States. He mentioned Elaine Chao, a Chinese woman who came to the US at the age of 8, telling us about her story and how she has contributed to the country. He said it is our responsibility to teach our kids about patriotism and never let it die. “You are now as American as I am by birth,” he said.
• Four children were called into the courtroom to lead the Pledge of Allegiance. We all turned ourselves to the flag, hands over our hearts and recited the Pledge. Personally, a very emotional moment to me.
• Each applicant was called by name, received their Certificate of Naturalization from the hands of the clerk of the court, shook hands with the Judge, received American flags from the hands of the children (who were positioned to greet participants in a receiving line), and went back to their seats. We were required to review the information written on our certificates to make sure names and dates were spelled correctly.
• Ceremony concluded at 2 pm.

Among the documents she sent, one in particular stood out for me, the Oath of Allegiance, which reads:

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

So, there it is, her story in all its glory, happiness, and pride. I cannot read this Oath of Allegiance without getting a lump in my throat. I cannot read this Oath of Allegiance without being reminded of the ceremonies when two of my children joined the Armed Forces. Nor, sadly, can I suppress my rage when hearing daily about the hordes of illegals who have invaded our country over the last eight years, with the complicity of two corrupt governments. Instead of the somber, joyful majesty of a ceremony that welcomes them into the United States, they sneak, climb, and slither like thieves in the night, inaugurating their presence into America not with pride, but with committing a crime. They have “earned” nothing more than immediate deportation. Instead, they are awarded instant victimization status bestowed by self-righteous elites who fund battalions of lawyers to plead their case.

Oh, they’ve “immigrated,” all right, in as wrong, disgraceful, and illegal a way as possible. Now, however, and finally, it’s time to do immigration right.