By Ed Karvoski Jr., Contributing Writer
Hudson – The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) presented 253 citizenship candidates to the Middlesex Superior Court during a naturalization ceremony held July 15 in the Riverview banquet hall of the Hudson Portuguese Club. Administering the Oath of Allegiance to the new American citizens was the Honorable Rosalind Miller, associate justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court.
“We stand together as one people,” she told them. “It’s from this diversity that America draws its strength.”
The ceremony featured “The Star-Spangled Banner” sung by Celina Chaves, an incoming sophomore at Hudson High School. She’s also the niece of two new American citizens and Hudson residents: her aunt, Maria Helena Reis, and her uncle, Jose Chaves, both originally from Portugal.
Speakers offering a welcome included state Rep. Kate Hogan, D-Stow; Hudson Selectmen Chair Scott Duplisea; Tony Chaves, president of the Hudson Portuguese Club general assembly; and Luis Chaves, director of the USCIS Lawrence field office and Hudson resident.
The citizenship candidates represented 55 countries: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Australia, Bhutan, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Finland, France, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Laos, Liberia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Turkey, Uganda, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.
For more information about USCIS and its programs, visit uscis.gov or follow on Twitter at @uscis.
