60 New American Citizens Join West Tennessee
This video is no longer available.
DOWNTOWN JACKSON — A number of people are now United States Citizens after a naturalization ceremony in Jackson, Tuesday. Sixty new American citizens pledged allegiance to their new country for the first time. After years of paperwork, many of them are thrilled to call America “home.” “I’m very proud.. It’s emotional.. It’s a lot.. It’s happy.. And it’s different. I can’t explain it but you feel different,” Emily Mejia, a new citizen from England, said. She became a citizen so she and her husband could be together. She’s from England and he is from Honduras. Emily says it was about love and the opportunity to live like all of their friends in America. “We walk out and we get to do things people get to do their whole life, like vote. We have a voice.” For some, it has been a long road but the day finally arrived. “For a guy it’s in a sense of a little girl’s fairy tale,” Ian Coombe, originally from China, said. Ian says he was an orphan who was found starving on the streets of China. He came to America 17 years ago. After all of the fees, paperwork, interviews, and years of waiting Ian is grateful for his family’s support. “I don’t think… I can ever repay them in any way so I’ll be the best citizen, brother, son, husband, grandson, I can possibly be.” For Emily and Ian, today was the first step in living a life of freedom and happiness. “We can move on and have our American dream..We can move on and have our lives together.” Other citizens were from countries including Russia, India, Belarus, and Brazil. Members from the Daughters of the American Revolution gave the new citizens flags to commemorate their achievement.
