Immigrants become US citizens in Pittsburgh naturalization ceremony

“I hereby declare, on oath, that I completely and fully surrender and abjure all allegiance and constancy to any overseas prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or whom I’ve heretofore been a topic or citizen; that I’ll help and defend the Constitution and legal guidelines of the United States of America towards all enemies, overseas and home; that I’ll bear true religion and allegiance to the identical; that I’ll bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the legislation; that I’ll carry out noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the legislation; that I’ll carry out work of nationwide significance below civilian course when required by the legislation; and that I take this obligation freely, with none psychological reservation or objective of evasion; —Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America

They got here from 18 nations throughout Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.

Their backgrounds, cultures and languages ​​had been numerous.

But on Friday morning, all of them swore the identical oath of allegiance to the United States contained in the federal courthouse in Downtown Pittsburgh.

With their vow, the 28 immigrants had been naturalized, changing into the latest American citizens.

Chief US Bankruptcy Judge Gregory Taddonio of the Western District of Pennsylvania welcomed the group beneath a big mural of the economic Mon Valley metal works, largely staffed by waves of immigrants on the flip of the twentieth century.

“Today, we celebrate the vibrancy of our country and the freedoms it affords,” Taddonio mentioned.

Friday’s ceremony offered a joyous distinction to the concern, unease and mistrust being skilled amongst immigrants throughout the nation on account of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Sandra Viviana Wise-Rosas has been working towards her citizenship since 2009.

Then 18, Wise-Rosas got here to the US from Colombia on a pupil visa to attend St. Mary’s University in San Antonio. She went on to earn a grasp’s diploma in engineering from Dartmouth University.

“It was always her parents’ dream for her to work and one day live in the United States,” mentioned Adam Wise, Wise-Rosas’ husband.

Wise-Rosas mentioned her dad and mom started educating her how you can communicate English when she was 6 to assist her assimilate into the nation extra simply when she reached the US

After school, she started working for a agency that sponsored her work visa, then inexperienced card.

Wise-Rosas’ in-laws and husband despatched pictures and movies to her dad and mom in Colombia of her naturalization ceremony.

“It feels amazing, almost surreal,” Wise-Rosas mentioned.

She was joined on the courthouse by her in-laws, her husband and their 4-year-old daughter, Sofia.

She and Wise met in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2015 and married in 2023. They relocated to Washington, Pa., for work.

Wise-Rosas mentioned she’s planning to get her American passport early Monday morning. She mentioned she needs to have the ability to journey and never fear about with the ability to get again into the US

She mentioned that, when visiting Niagara Falls a number of years in the past, her household needed to keep on the American aspect as a result of she would have needed to acquire a visa, not like American passport holders.

“I can’t wait to travel,” Wise-Rosas mentioned.

Smooth crusing

Muhammad Ali, a Robinson resident initially from Pakistan, caught round after the ceremony to fill out his new voter registration kind.

He mentioned he’d been working towards his citizenship for 5 years after he married his spouse, Nabeela, an American citizen.

He mentioned he hadn’t encountered many bumps alongside the immigration pathway.

“It was a beautiful journey,” Ali mentioned. “Today is a big day of my life.”

As Rasha Totolos acquired her naturalization certificates, she grinned and waved a small American flag.

Jordanian by beginning, Totolos arrived in the United States to review at Atlantis University in Miami.

After hopping between jobs in New York and California, she met her husband, George, on a Zoom magic present as a part of her younger cousin’s birthday celebration.

George despatched Totolos a message quickly after: “The most magical part of the show was your face.”

The two, already semi-familiar by means of household connections, married quickly after.

Like Ali, Totolos mentioned his immigration course of largely proceeded with out problem.

In addition to swearing the Oath of Allegiance, the brand new citizens additionally recited the Pledge of Allegiance, acquainted to schoolchildren throughout the nation who reel it off by rotation.

Totolos mentioned the pledge all the time stirs her.

“It was all very beautiful,” Totolos mentioned.

Before reciting the pledge, the group listened to the nationwide anthem, sung by court docket worker Eric Sciulli.

‘Retirement’

Susan Hockenberry and Julie Gatti, volunteers from the Greater Pittsburgh Chapter of the League of Women Voters, sat in on the ceremony to assist the brand new citizens register to vote.

Hockenberry, who’s been to a number of ceremonies, mentioned they’re “always moving.”

Of the brand new citizens, Gatti mentioned, 21 had registered.

“You’ve got to build the country,” Gatti mentioned. “These people fought to get here.”

In 2025, judges in the Western District of Pennsylvania naturalized about 900 new citizens, in keeping with Mike Palus, who works for the court docket.

After the swearing-in, Taddonio mentioned federal judges usually come for the chance to preside over naturalization ceremonies.

In a job that always requires upsetting one aspect, the decide mentioned the ceremonies provide a pervasive “sense of positivity.”

“You get to look at them in the eye and just see the retirement,” Taddonio mentioned.

Taddonio requested the citizens to not neglect the immigrants nonetheless working towards citizenship in addition to the generations of Americans who fought for the freedoms they’ve come to get pleasure from.

He additionally requested they not neglect their native languages ​​or the cultures that shaped them. But Taddonio additionally urged them to become energetic in forming the way forward for their adopted homeland.

“Now,” Taddonio mentioned, “it is your turn.”