“Helping legal immigrants prepare for citizenship and assimilation into American society is in the best interest of our nation and has been a long-standing and proud tradition of The American Legion since its founding.” – Mark Avis, Past Americanism Commission Chairman
Looking for a tangible way to "foster and perpetuate a 100% Americanism," American Legion Neal Thomas Jr. Centennial Post 209 committed itself to honoring newly naturalized American citizens in their Colorado Springs community. In a demonstration of support for legal immigration and pride in U.S. citizenship, Post 209 decided to present each newly naturalized citizen with their first U.S. flag to proudly display in their homes. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) naturalization ceremony, conducted November 7 at the 21c Pikes Peak Library in Colorado Springs, offered the perfect venue for the presentations.
Colorado Springs' own America the Beautiful Chorus opened the ceremony with a moving rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner." Colorado Springs Mayor Yemi Mobolade reminded the audience that in 2017, he too became a new U.S. citizen in that very room. He echoed the words from Mitt Romney's 2012 national convention speech, "Optimism is uniquely American. It is what brought us to America. We are a nation of immigrants. We are the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the ones who wanted a better life, the driven ones, the ones who woke up at night hearing that voice telling them that life in that place called America could be better."
The 34 newly naturalized U.S. citizens, born in 20 different countries, then swore their oaths of allegiance to "support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic." As new citizens, they pledged their allegiance to the U.S. flag and the Republic for which it stands. After receiving their official certificates of naturalized U.S. citizenship, the new citizens were presented with their "first flag." In an impressive demonstration of civic engagement, 22 members of the American Legion Post 209 family participated in the flag presentations. In addition to the 3' x 5' all-weather flag, each citizen also received an American Legion U.S. Flag Etiquette booklet. The effort was entirely funded by American Legion Post 209 through individual donations.
Following the ceremony, which was conducted on election day, the League of Women Voters were on hand to assist in voter registration, which provided the new American citizens their first opportunity to exercise a fundamental duty of citizenship by voting.
Our post involvement in this U.S. citizenship ceremony was very rewarding, and we intend to establish the “first flag for new citizens” initiative as an ongoing Americanism program at Post 209. I would encourage other American Legion posts in every state to find similar ways to participate in naturalization and citizenship programs in your communities. As members of the nation’s foremost veteran service organization, we can powerfully demonstrate our ongoing commitment to American values and civic engagement by celebrating with our community’s newest U.S. citizens as they pledge “to support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America."