Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly welcomed the nearly 15,000 people who will soon take an oath to become American citizens on July 4, Independence Day.
“These naturalization ceremonies are the culmination of their hard work, their faith in America, and their respect for our country’s laws and immigration process,” John Kelly said in a July 4 statement.
“As the Secretary of Homeland Security, I am honored to congratulate them and call them my fellow Americans,” he said. “To them, and to all Americans, I wish you a safe and happy Fourth of July.”
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is hosting 30 naturalization ceremonies across the country on July 4.
DHS highlighted some of these ceremonies from around the country on its Twitter account.
One ceremony in New Jersey took place on a battleship:
In Vermont, the great-granddaughter of President Calvin Coolidge led in singing the Star-Spangled Banner:
And bagpipers played at a ceremony in Georgia:
“We have welcomed countless immigrants to our shores—immigrants who have helped build our nation and shape our history. Immigrants who became important parts of our institutions,” Kelly said.
Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general who lost his son Robert in Afghanistan, also paid tribute to U.S. troops for defending America’s freedom.
“As American citizens, we are bound together by the ideal that our democracy and dedication to freedom for all is worth defending. So worthy, that American men and women dedicate their lives to protecting it, serving at home and overseas, and sacrificing their time, health, and even lives for it.
“We can never thank them enough,” he said.