(3 Jul 2018) The nation's immigration debate was on the minds of many newly sworn-in U.S. citizens in New York on Monday.
Just ahead of the July 4th holiday, 200 immigrants from 50 countries became naturalized citizens during an annual independence day naturalization ceremony in the main branch of the New York Public Library.
"This is a big relief because I'm the first one in my family to become a U.S. citizen. They're so, like, proud of me," said Mariela Martinez, with tears in her eyes just before the ceremony.
Martinez immigrated with her family from the Dominican Republic more than 20 years ago, and says that her family is now more motivated to complete the naturalization process because of fears among the immigrant community.
"It was really sad to see all these kids -- it's really, really sad," she said, referring to children who have been separated from their parents at the border. "I don't want nobody to separate my family or anything. That would be really hard."
More than 2,000 children have been taken from their families at the border in recent weeks and scattered in different states under President Donald Trump's zero-tolerance policy, which criminally prosecutes adults caught crossing the border illegally.
But amid an international outcry, Trump last week issued an executive order to stop the separation of immigrant families at the border.
"I don't think the founding fathers of this country would have liked to see what's happening right now," said Diana Moutela, a native of Portugal who was naturalized in Tuesday's ceremony. "I don't think they would agree with, like, putting little kids in cages, for instance."
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