At merry ceremony in Seattle, hundreds become U.S. citizens

SEATTLE — About 500 people from more than 80 countries became new citizens of the United States of America on July Fourth in Seattle.

The ceremony was held outside in the sunlight at Seattle Center.

A Navy band dressed in white and navy blue played joyful music with clarinets and trumpets. Hundreds in the crowd waved small American flags made of cloth.

People gathered near to show support and watch from the grass, holding signs that read, “Congratulations. You make America great,” and, simply, “Welcome.”

Red, white and blue balloons floated in the air on strings.

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell spoke at a black podium with a bouquet of red, white and purple flowers at its front.

“When you take this oath of citizenship today, you are representing years of hard work to get to this point,” Cantwell said. “Your stories become the American story.”

Cantwell said people from 83 countries were sworn in as U.S. citizens.

“It’s your turn to write the next chapter of American history,” Cantwell said.

King County Executive Dow Constantine raised his hand when he arrived at the podium, showing what hundreds would soon do to officially become citizens.

“I am American by accident,” Constantine said. “You will be American by choice. By gumption. By hard work.”

A small choir dressed all in red sang, "God bless America, land that I love," swaying back and forth.

When Washington Gov. Jay Inslee spoke, he first grinned and gave greetings in multiple languages, to the crowd’s pleasure.

“Buenos dias, konichiwa, bonjour, ni hao,” Inslee began, as the crowd laughed.

Inslee had a flower tucked into the breast pocket of his jacket that matched the bouquet at the podium. A small horizontal strip of red, white and blue was below the flower.

“Immigration is a strength of America,” Inslee said.

When it was time, the hundreds gathered were instructed to raise their hand and recite an oath swearing allegiance to the Constitution and laws of the nation.

Some closed their eyes and recited serenely.

Some stared straight ahead and recited while smiling.

Some recited quietly, while holding young children, who were small and sleeping on their shoulders.

"The United States is a land of freedom," Andrii Sagaidak said after the ceremony where he was sworn in as a citizen. "It has a lot of opportunities for us. I'm just happy to be an American."

“(I’m) trying to hold the tears back,” Redi Karameto, originally from Albania, said after he became a U.S. citizen. “(It was a) long journey.

Nineteen years."

To see a GIF timeline with video highlights, scroll down past additional content.

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