June
30, 2011 -
Southport, NC - Ms. Denise Frazier District 8
Director in Atlanta, U.S. Citizenship and
Immigration Services (USCIS), Department of Homeland
Security will administer the Oath of United States
Citizenship to 152 candidates, in a ceremony
beginning at 4:00 PM on the Ft. Johnston Garrison
House lawn on July 3, 2011. Also speaking from the
Transportation Security Administration in Washington
DC will be Ms. Gale D. Rossides, The Deputy
Administrator. We will also be joined by the
Honorable Robert B. Jones, United States Magistrate
Judge for the Eastern District of North Carolina at
Wilmington. The ceremony, the 15th annual event, is
a significant part of the NC 4th of July Festival
held annually in Southport, NC. This will be among
the largest number of new citizens to ever
participate in the Southport ceremony. The keynote
speaker for this annual event will be Wilmington
Mayor Bill Saffo, himself a product of an immigrant
family from Greece. The new citizens represent 52
countries from 9 continents around the world. The
largest number of new citizens, 25, originates from
Mexico, with another 13 from India, 9 from Columbia,
8 from the Philippines, and 7 from Vietnam. Among
our new fellow citizens nearly 28% immigrated from
Asia, over 25% from Central America (including
Mexico) and the Caribbean, just over 16% from
Africa, 15% from Europe, just under 8% from South
America, 2.6% from Canada, and one (1) person from
Australia. Among the total there are six (6)
couples, 2 each from India and Vietnam; and 1 each
from Mexico, and Nigeria, scheduled to take their
oaths of citizenship. In addition, a first for the
NC 4th of July Festival, a family of four (4),
parents and 2 children, from Poland will become
citizens at the same time.