HOUSTON – Today at NRG Arena 3,360 people were sworn in as U.S. citizens. It is Houston’s largest-ever naturalization ceremony, led by a coalition of county and community organizations committed to supporting citizenship efforts, which strengthen communities by leading to career opportunities and economic contribution.
The ceremony happened during this week’s massive heatwave, and as more than 1.5 million Houston-area households were still without power after Hurricane Beryl.
“More than 3,200 people from 121 countries braving the heat, no power, etc. to secure the most valuable document in the world: a U.S. passport,” said Michael Treviño, a senior advisor of Treviño Consulting Group and Houston organizer for the American Immigration Council.
For many attendees this moment was years in the making. Immigration hits home in Houston, where one in four Houston residents was born in another country and 44 percent of children have at least one immigrant parent.
The historic oath ceremony was led by Harris County in partnership with the National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA), American Immigration Council, League of Women Voters of Houston, Houston Endowment, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and community partners across the Greater Houston Area.
Houston has an estimated 300,000 residents who are eligible to apply for U.S. Citizenship.