By John Tozzi
“We were waiting for this opportunity for a long time,” said Johnson Samuel, a Nassau County resident who came from India 10 years ago with Achamma, his wife of 43 years.”We have all the privileges when we go around the world,” he said. “A U.S. passport has its own value, its own weight.”City Councilman David Weprin (D-Hollis), along with officials from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and QCC, congratulated the freshly minted Americans and welcomed them to their new country.”Today we celebrate the culmination of your great journey as new American citizens,” he said.Weprin noted that New York, and Queens in particular, are home to one of the most ethnically diverse populations in the country, and he offered an old reason why.”Today most new immigrants come by plane, by jet to Kennedy airport. And if any of you have ever seen the traffic on the Van Wyck Expressway- – they never make it out of Queens,” he said.Rose Chapman, the chief of naturalization for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, thanked QCC for holding the event for the third year in a row and said the department had for years struggled to find spaces to hold the ceremonies.”This was really the very first college that offered to host a naturalization ceremony,” she said.Queensborough is a fitting site for the events. As the college's Chief Operating Officer Howard Lapidus noted, the students at the Bayside college reflect the ethnic variety of the borough.”You're at a college that has some 12,000 students in attendance who come from over 130 different countries,” he said. “You are part of some 65 different countries today that are being recognized.”The greatest number of new citizens at Friday's ceremony came from China, Guyana and Jamaica, with 24 from each country. Another 21 came from Bangladesh. Nations as diverse as Afghanistan, Grenada, Ireland, Moldova, Senegal and Yemen were also represented.After Chapman administered the oath, Citizenship and Immigration Services Officer-In-Charge Linda Pritchett welcomed the group, with family members watching and some holding small American flags.”It is my honor to be the first person in the nation to greet you as my fellow Americans,” she said.Two of the new citizens were sworn in on their birthday, and one member of the military was scheduled to deploy to Iraq Monday.Jamie Quito, a Ridgewood resident who came to America 15 years ago from Ecuador, said he was excited and thankful for the opportunities his new nation has given him.”God bless America,” he said.Maria Gomez, a Woodside resident originally from Dominican Republic, was also thankful to earn citizenship after 14 years in the country.”I'm feeling very happy,” she said.Reach reporter John Tozzi by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300 Ext. 188.
