| Speaker | Time | Text |
|---|---|---|
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unidentified
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Every C-SPAN fan and every purchase helps support our nonprofit operations. | |
| Scan the code or go to C-SPANShop.org to shop our 4th of July sale going on right now. | ||
| From the beginning, C-SPAN was there for every word of debate, every vote. | ||
| C-SPAN was there, giving you around-the-clock coverage through all-nighters into the early morning hours with record-breaking back-to-back votes in the Senate. | ||
| We're going to press on until victory is won. | ||
| I yield back. | ||
| And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries giving the longest House speech ever. | ||
| Only on C-SPAN could you witness the full story unfold, unfiltered in real time. | ||
| The Yays are 218, the Nays are 214. | ||
| The motion is adopted. | ||
| We're sort of celebrating like the biggest bill of its kind ever signed. | ||
| And it's going to make this country into a rocket ship. | ||
| It's going to be really great. | ||
| George Washington's Mount Vernon hosted a naturalization ceremony. | ||
| Nearly 100 people took the oath of citizenship. | ||
| Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was the keynote speaker. | ||
| Well, good morning, everybody. | ||
| I know that was cheering from me. | ||
| It's wonderful. | ||
| I'm Doug Bradburn. | ||
| I'm the president and CEO of George Washington's Mount Vernon. | ||
| It's my honor to be with you here today on this extraordinary day, 4th of July, and the day when we get to welcome newest citizens to the United States of America on the grounds of George Washington's beloved home. | ||
| Yes, come on. | ||
| We can do better than that. | ||
|
unidentified
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Yeah. | |
| So let's situate ourselves. | ||
| 250 years ago, yesterday, George Washington took command of a brand new thing called the American Army. | ||
| No Army. | ||
| To begin the fight that would ultimately lead to the independence of this nation. | ||
| It was also the first step in an ongoing effort to create a new people out of diverse elements. | ||
| Our great motto, E pluribus Unum, means from many one. | ||
| And when George Washington took over that Army 250 years ago, it was not a national army. | ||
| And he would have to forge it into an institution of common national purpose through perseverance, devotion to the cause. | ||
| And that first step in our great story of trying to find the things that we share together began 250 years ago, yesterday. | ||
| So it's critical to remember this fact, particularly on the 4th of July, that for all our differences and frustrations with each other, we're a people who share fundamental principles. | ||
| We're the only country in the history of the world founded based on an idea that people can govern themselves, that they are all equal, that the people have rights, which government exists to protect, and our principles are embedded in the documents that were written and won by the founding generation and improved in each generation. | ||
| General George Washington helped establish those principles, serving in the three most important roles in the founding of our great republic, commander-in-chief during the Army, who fought with valor, vigilance, and courage during the dark times of an eight-long years' war and affirmed the truth of the Declaration of Independence by winning. | ||
| He was also the president of the Constitutional Convention, who shepherded the extraordinary compromise which saved the Union after the war, creating the fundamental basis of our law, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which still govern us today. | ||
| And he was the first President of the United States, whose character and judgment created a powerful office to establish law and order, but whose humility allowed the United States to survive beyond his time, free from the abuses of arbitrary power. | ||
| There would be no Generalissimo to take the reins in the United States of America, in large part because of the character of George Washington. | ||
| For Washington, the founding of the United States was always considered a great experiment in human happiness under civil society. | ||
| Today, you're all going to become part of that ongoing effort, an experiment, to see if we can govern ourselves with justice and fairness for all, and if we can work together to form a more perfect union that we can hand off to our children and their children. | ||
| You've earned that place because of your hard work and your extraordinary efforts. | ||
| George Washington often noted that the decisions of his generation would affect unborn millions. | ||
| That if Americans were not entirely free and happy, the fault would be their own. | ||
| That's the whole point of having a free nation. | ||
| You get to choose your future. | ||
| And if we aren't free and happy, it is going to be all of our failure. | ||
| We all have to make those choices to try to make this the best place it can be. | ||
| And that is our gift, and that's the burden of self-governance. | ||
| And I'm very excited that you're going to be sharing in this with us all. | ||
| Today's ceremony is very important to you. | ||
| It's very important to our national story. | ||
| Welcoming new citizens from distant and foreign lands was an ideal born at the American founding itself. | ||
| In fact, today you're going to recreate the revolutionary action of America's founding generation to freely choose to become part of a new nation, the United States of America. | ||
| It was the choice that George Washington made. | ||
| He wasn't born an American citizen. | ||
| And there could be no more appropriate place for a ceremony such as this than at the home of our country's most famous founding father, and no more appropriate day than Independence Day. | ||
| I envy you this exciting moment in your lives. | ||
| You are born again in liberty on the birthday of America, and we are thrilled that you are here. | ||
| Cheering. | ||
|
unidentified
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Applause. | |
| Tough crowd. | ||
| Tough crowd. | ||
| I want to thank the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service and our distinguished guests who join us today in celebration. | ||
| Deputy Secretary Edgar, Mr. Cawkins, Ms. Christophe, Ms. Heaton, thank you so much for your partnership. | ||
| I would also like to thank the Mount Vernon Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, as well as the George Washington Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution for their dedication and support of Mount Vernon and all our programs today. | ||
| And on behalf, yep, let's hear it for the DAR and the SAR. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Okay. | |
| And on behalf of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, let me extend a warm welcome and a thank you to Governor Schwarzenegger. | ||
| honored to have you with us today. | ||
| Now it is my pleasure to introduce Madeline Kristoff. | ||
| Ms. Kristoff serves as the Washington District Deputy Director for United States Citizen and Immigration Services and has served in various roles within USCIS for 13 years. | ||
| Let's thank her for her incredible service for our nation and welcome her to the lectern. | ||
| Mrs. Kristoff. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
|
unidentified
|
Good morning and thank you, Dr. Bradburn, for welcoming us all here today. | |
| I am thrilled to welcome you, your family, friends, and guests to today's special naturalization ceremony here at George and Martha Washington's Mount Vernon. | ||
| I also want to thank the wonderful team here at Mount Vernon for hosting us on this really special day. | ||
| I'm honored to also introduce to you the distinguished guests who have joined me here today to celebrate your citizenship. | ||
| You've already met Dr. Douglas Bradburn, President and CEO of George Washington's Mount Vernon. | ||
| We also have Arnold Schwarzenegger, the 38th Governor of California. | ||
| Troy Edgar, Deputy Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security. | ||
| Aaron Calkins, the Chief of Staff for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. | ||
| And also Hillary West, Vice Regent for the District of Columbia. | ||
| And also not on stage, I would like to mention Ms. Amherst Heaton, the Washington Field Office Director for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. | ||
| And Jessica Lynn, the vocalist who covers DC, Maryland, and Virginia. | ||
| And lastly, for the staff of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Washington Field Office, who are here, who checked you in, who brought your certificates, and we'll hand all that out to you at the end of the ceremony. | ||
| Thank you for all your hard work. | ||
| To officially begin our ceremony, everyone please rise and place your right hand over your heart for the national anthem as Jessica Lynn comes to the stage to perform. | ||
| Oh, see, can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilights last gleaming, whose brought stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight o'er? | ||
| The ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming, and the rockets, red glare, the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. | ||
| Oh say, does that star-spangled bandar yet wave? | ||
| o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave please be seated Thank you, Ms. Lynch, for that lovely rendition of the national anthem. | ||
| Next, I'd like to welcome USCIS Chief of Staff Aaron Caucins to the stage. | ||
| Mr. Cawkins was appointed as the USCIS Chief of Staff on January 20, 2025. | ||
| He previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Legislative Affairs for the Department of Homeland Security and Chief of Staff for the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs at USCIS. | ||
| He also previously served as Chief of Staff for Congressman Eric Burleson, as well as Legislative Director and Counsel for Congressman Andy Biggs and Raul Labrador. | ||
| Thank you, Chief of Staff Calkins. | ||
| Thank you, Madeline. | ||
| Good morning. | ||
| It is a great honor to be part of this exciting and important day in your lives. | ||
| In just a few moments, Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Troy Edgar will administer the Oath of Allegiance. | ||
| Deputy Secretary Edgar is the ninth Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, and he previously served as the Department's Chief Financial Officer. | ||
| He supports Secretary Noam as the Chief Operating Officer of the Department, supporting the department's 260,000 employees worldwide. | ||
| He's a veteran of the United States Navy and he has more than 35 years of experience in consulting and is a senior executive and entrepreneur. | ||
| He also served as the mayor and city council member of Los Alamitos, California. | ||
| We are honored to have him here with us today. | ||
| And now I will call out every country that is represented here today. | ||
| When I call your country, please stand up and remain standing. | ||
| You come from many backgrounds, but soon you will all stand as one: Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, | ||
| Australia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, | ||
| Burkina Faso, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo-Kenasha, | ||
| Costa Rica, Cote-D'Vor, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, | ||
| Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, The Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, | ||
| Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, | ||
| Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Murtios, Mexico, Moldova, | ||
| Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Pakistan, | ||
| Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, St. Kitts and Neves, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, | ||
| South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, | ||
| Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, and Zimbabwe. | ||
| Deputy Secretary Edgar, each of these 100 candidates has been personally examined under oath by a designated officer. | ||
| Each has demonstrated an understanding of English and a knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of history and principles and form of government of the United States. | ||
| Each has been found to be a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States. | ||
| The government investigations have been completed in their cases, and each has been found to meet all requirements of the law to be naturalized. | ||
| Deputy Secretary Edgar, please administer the Oath of Allegiance to these candidates. | ||
| What an exciting day. | ||
| We're so blessed to be here with you guys. | ||
| As the Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, it's my privilege to be able to administer the oath to the 100 candidates presented today. | ||
| And I would just ask if you would please raise your right hand and please repeat after me. | ||
| I hereby declare an oath that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, | ||
| potentate, or state or sovereignty of whom which I would hear through been a subject or a citizen. | ||
| I will support and defend the Constitution of the laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, That I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law. | ||
| That I will perform non-combatant services in the armed services of the United States when required by law. | ||
| And that I will perform the work of national importance under civilian direction when required by law. | ||
| And that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. | ||
| So help me, God. | ||
| Congratulations. | ||
| May I go ahead and be seated, please. | ||
| On behalf of President Trump, Secretary of Homeland Security, Christy Noam, and the men and women of the Department of Homeland Security, it's my honor to be the first to address you as my fellow citizens. | ||
| It's a distinct privilege for me to join in this event with you today and an important milestone in your lives for which you officially become a citizen of this great nation. | ||
| I want to thank a few people here today, starting with the President Washington for opening his home up to us today. | ||
| How awesome is this? | ||
| I couldn't think of any more appropriate time or place to have an event like this. | ||
| I also want to thank Ann Neil Petri and the Mount Vernon Ladies Association for helping us arrange this special ceremony and the staff of USCIS or United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Washington Field Office for all their work supporting and interviewing everybody for this event. | ||
| Thank you guys. | ||
| Really appreciate it. | ||
| What a perfect day to become an American citizen as we start your journey on the 249th anniversary of our country and the Declaration of Independence. | ||
| The one thing that has not changed in this country is the commitment and our courage to provision for the 4th of July. | ||
| This year, we're marking the occasion by welcoming the new citizens at over 300 ceremonies across the United States. | ||
| And like this, these new U.S. citizens have chosen to make the United States of America their home. | ||
| You have all chosen this to have a common home, but a common future with your fellow citizens. | ||
| I also want to recognize a couple key people here today that have already started to serve in our nation's armed services. | ||
| I'd like to recognize these few courageous new Americans, and if you wouldn't mind when I mention your name, if you'd please rise. | ||
| Specialist Francisco Ismail Sandoval Azkorbing. | ||
| God bless you. | ||
| And stay standing, Lance Corporal Luis Andres Vesquez Lasso. | ||
| Thank you for everything you've done for this country. | ||
| And having served in the U.S. Navy myself, I just wanted to tell you, thank you, and I understand your dedication to the country. | ||
| And everybody here appreciates your service. | ||
| Thank you so much. | ||
| Go ahead and have a seat. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Today, we're going to have Arnold Schwarzenegger coming up here. | ||
| But for me personally, this is a very special ceremony. | ||
| My wife is, she sat in the same seat you guys did 40 years ago. | ||
| She's from Iran. | ||
| My wife, Betty Sarkis, is she here, Betty? | ||
| Yeah, so that's my wife. | ||
| So just kind of an idea. | ||
| This is one of the most special things that I get to do as the Deputy Secretary is my wife came here, didn't speak English, left Iran during the persecution of Christians 40 years ago, came here, got two degrees as school teacher, and just serves in Little Saigon in Orange County, California as a teacher for almost 30 years. | ||
| This is her American dream. | ||
| And for all of you, this is the beginning of your American dream. | ||
| I'm just so excited for you. | ||
| Thank you, Betty. | ||
| So now the real fun part. | ||
| It's my pleasure to introduce someone that demonstrates just how much a naturalized citizen can accomplish in the United States. | ||
| Since he's become an American citizen more than 40 years ago, he has unparalleled success in the motion picture industry. | ||
| More importantly, he's worked tirelessly to give back to this country. | ||
| He's helped provide for after-school and summer athletic programs for our children. | ||
| Thank you, Arnold. | ||
| He's also founded the USC Schwarzenegger Institute for State and Global Policy. | ||
| For USC, thank you. | ||
| And as many of you guys know, he served as the 38th governor of the state of California, and he was my governor for all that time. | ||
| Thank you. | ||
| Please join me in welcoming Arnold Schwarzenegger. | ||
| Well, thank you very much for this wonderful introduction. | ||
| That's exactly the way I wrote it. |