Naturalized

Video clips of masked ICE marauders rounding up people in city parks got me thinking about my wife’s status in the United States. Manyu is a naturalized citizen. Her place in the US should be as secure as my own, but I am no longer sure that it is.

I remember well Manyu’s citizenship ceremony. It was at the federal courthouse in Madison. She was one of about sixteen people being inducted that day. Half of them wore the traditional garb of the country from which they came. I do not recall the exact date, but Clare was still in a baby carrier, so it must have been late 1999 or early 2000. 

The judge was exceptional. After she administered the oath, she said, “Sometimes my job is terrible. I see the worst examples of humanity that there are. Today is the opposite to all of that. Today is an honor and a joy, and I am proud to be the first person in the world to welcome you as citizens of the United States. No one can ever tell you that they are more American than you are. They are not. Congratulations.”

During the induction ceremony, two old people had been sitting at one of the attorney’s tables. I’d assumed that they were legally required witnesses, but I was wrong. The judge introduced them as representatives of the American Legion and Daughters of the American Revolution. I should have known something was up when the judge quickly slipped out the door behind her bench, but I was slow to see what was happening. Each of the old folks then gave a 5-minute speech about what it means to be an American. Every word out of their mouths was patriotic platitude. I’m in the gallery, getting angry and thinking, “Hey, inductees! You are Americans now. You don’t have to sit here and listen to this drivel.”

I looked at the new citizens, and Manyu was the only one not giving the old people her full attention. Instead she was looking at me in the gallery, and with her eyes was saying, “Calm down. I know what you are thinking, but no one else is bothered by these people. They are just welcoming us. Let them have their moment.”

I do not recall any of words from the DAR/American Legion speeches. I am sure that “freedom,” “liberty,” and “God bless America” were in there somewhere. The judge’s comments I remember almost word for word. “No one can ever tell you that they are more American than you are. They are not.”