It’s a status that many are born into, but for others, U.S. citizenship is the reward at the end of an arduous path. This week, in a ballroom packed with friends and families, 248 people from 58 countries became U.S. citizens at the annual naturalization ceremony at Texas State University.
“Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is conferred upon foreign citizens or nationals after fulfilling the requirements established by Congress,” a press release from the university explained. “After naturalization, foreign-born citizens enjoy nearly all the same benefits, rights and responsibilities that the Constitution gives to native-born U.S. citizens, including the right to vote.”
At the ceremony, the League of Women Voters was on hand to provide information about voter registration. Other area organizations — Main Street, Centro Cultural Hispano de San Marcos, Indigenous Cultures Institute, the Mexican Consulate in Austin and Texas State’s Student Community of Progressive Empowerment — had tables set up inside the LBJ Student Center Ballroom to provide information about their services and resources. U.S. Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Texas Mark Lane presided over the ceremony and administered the citizenship oath.
