SPRINGDALE, Utah – Zion National Park hosted a naturalization ceremony to officially induct new citizens of the United States of America earlier this week.
During the ceremony, the 40 citizenship candidates raised their right hands and took the Oath of Allegiance, the last of many steps on the path to U.S. citizenship.
Foreign nationals, from 20 countries around the world, were naturalized during the ceremony. Individuals hailed from Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Ireland, the Marshall Islands, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Paraguay, the Philippines and the United Kingdom, according to an official statement.
This marks the third time Zion has hosted a naturalization ceremony as part of a partnership with the National Park Service and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
The goal of this partnership is to encourage both agencies to co-host naturalization ceremonies in America’s most special places — its national parks.
Judge Magistrate Judge Paul Kohler swore in the new citizens. In his remarks, he spoke on the aptness of choosing Zion National Park, with the iconic Court of the Patriarchs feature, as the backdrop for the ceremony.
“It reminds me of the wonderful stories of those people, especially Abraham, who left a difficult place and found a promised land,” Kohler remarked at the ceremony. “I hope that you find your promised land here in America.”
Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is conferred upon foreign citizens or nationals after fulfilling a set of requirements established by Congress.
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.
“What better place to become a U.S. citizen than in a national park?” said Zion Superintendent Jeff Bradybaugh shortly before the candidates were sworn in. “As an American, you are more than a passerby in these lands. You are an owner. We encourage you to take the time to learn about these places, become stewards, and continually work to protect them.”
