New Americans sworn in time to celebrate Fourth of July

Mariana Torres of Pasco celebrated her new status as a U.S. citizen with a picture next to U.S District Court Judge Salvadore Mendoza Jr.

He presided over a naturalization ceremony in Richland at the federal courthouse on Thursday.

It was the first courtroom naturalization ceremony in Tri-Cities since the courts closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eighteen people became U.S. citizens after Mendoza administered the Oath of Allegiance.

With citizenship comes benefits that include voting, applying for a U.S. passport, working for the federal government and petitioning for extended family to immigrate to the U.S.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington held the ceremony on July 1 in honor of Independence Day.

“It’s really hard to explain the feelings, the emotions, because it’s been a hard journey,” Torres said.

She left everything she loved and knew when she immigrated from Mexico 31 years ago but has since built a career and family here. The U.S. is home, she says, and becoming a citizen means more than she can describe.

“I feel like crying, like laughing, like jumping,” she said. “I’m almost 60 so I have to be quiet but I want to dance.”

And, as she left the courthouse, she did that too.