Amid National Debate Over Immigration, Central Illinois Gains 88 New U.S. Citizens

In this time of strife over immigration issues, residents of central Illinois are still taking citizenship oaths.

Dana Vollmer reports.

It was standing room only, as family, friends and supporters watched 88 central Illinoisans take the Oath of Allegiance and officially became American citizens after a naturalization ceremony in Peoria Friday.

Collectively, they represent 32 home countries. But many have lived in the America for decades — and the journey to citizenship has been long.

Mauricio Sadicoff, who is originally from Brazil, has lived in the U.S. for 22 years.

“It takes a long time, a lot of effort and a lot of money and just bureaucracy," he said. "One time I had to leave a company I was working in, legally, because the employment authorization I had had to be renewed within a four month period, but it took them six months to get me the renewal.”

Sadicoff lost his job because of the delay and had to wait to reapply until the work visa finally came through. He said his experience is not uncommon.

“It's just a lot of hoops that we have to jump through," he said. "It's not an easy process to become an American. I don't know that it should be easy, but it probably shouldn't be this hard.”

In order to become a U.S. citizen, a person must have their green card for at least five years. They also have to read, write and speak basic English and be determined to be “a person of good moral character.” Then, there’s another 10 steps before the naturalization ceremony.

Genesis Regala Buendia is a volunteer coordinator with the Immigration Project, a non-profit that provides affordable legal services to immigrants in central and southern Illinois.

She said a lot of people get stuck on the step one: getting a green card in the first place.

“The line in order to just apply for it — not even to get it — is, for some countries, over 100 years," she said.

Regala Buendia herself just became a citizen that day. Her parents brought her to the United States from the Philippines on a H-1B visa. They had to wait 10 years for their green card applications to be processed and then another five years to apply for citizenship.

“The U.S., my home, is now my actual home on paper," she said. "It’s unfortunate that there are other people that are trying to get in our position that cannot call this home ... despite being there for even longer than me, possibly.”

Arti Subramanian, who came to the U.S. from India in 2002, watched her citizenship application hang in limbo from the Bush administration on through the Trump administration.

“It’s getting harder day by day," she said. "People who are waiting behind us for the filing, they are hearing more horror stories than us.”

When the honorees finally crossed the stage in the basement of the Peoria Public Library, they gained a host of new rights: They can register to vote, apply for a passport to travel freely out of the country, and avoid the hassle of extra paperwork when applying for jobs or colleges. They also have a better chance of keeping their families together.

Subramanian said there’s another benefit:

“Honestly speaking, it’s a pride to say that I am a citizen of America," she said.

U.S. District Judge James Shadid officiated the ceremony in which he administered the same oath —and the same certificate of citizenship — his grandparents received after emigrating from Lebanon a century ago.

“1919, they arrived here," Shadid said. "My grandpa became a citizen in 1930.”

Shadid said the event was a reminder of the opportunity he’s had because of the decision they made.

In his remarks, Shadid pointed out the divisiveness of immigration politics and criticized the unnecessary degradation of people.

Sadicoff, from Brazil, says he has received nothing but support from his community.

“But it is really weird to have a president that essentially tries to make me less of an American now that I'm going to get naturalized than somebody who just happened to be born here," he said.

And now, Sadicoff said, he finally has the power to do something about it.

“Now I get to have a political say," he said. "I don't think that it is a positive thing to try to create two classes of citizenship. I think if you're a citizen, you're a citizen, and it should be treated as such.”

With their certificate and a small American flag in hand, newly-minted citizens returned to what is finally, officially their home.

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