Twenty new citizens in a colonial courtroom: naturalization at First State

A family applauds during the ceremony. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

On November 7, 2024, twenty people born in eleven countries — among them Cameroon, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Mexico — became United States citizens in the old courtroom of the New Castle Court House Museum in Delaware. The courthouse is one of six sites that make up First State National Historical Park, and the ceremony was one of the small ones that let new citizens take their oath somewhere the country's own story happened.

Who made it happen

One of the speakers was a new citizen, who described how long the road had been and how much it had cost, and why it had been worth it.

After the oath

The new citizens and their families took photographs in the historic courtroom. Children and adults alike earned Junior Ranger badges for the park. Outside, the Department of Elections helped the new citizens register to vote on the spot, and the Daughters of the American Revolution served refreshments.

Why a park

A national agreement between the National Park Service and Citizenship and Immigration Services encourages naturalization ceremonies at park sites, so that a person's first moments as a citizen can be spent in one of the nation's historic or scenic places. The New Castle courthouse — where Delaware's colonial assembly met and the state's early courts sat — is a fitting one, and the park hopes to host more.

Sources

Written from "Naturalization Ceremony at First State National Historical Park", National Park Service, a work of the United States government in the public domain.