90 take oaths, become citizens at local event

90 take oaths, become citizens at local event

By Mark Sommerhauser • msommerhauser@stcloudtimes.com • May 26, 2010

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After crossing oceans, passing tests and waiting years, Central Minnesota's newest U.S. citizens got certificates for their achievement.

But before claiming his certificate, John Mientone had to do something else first.
Mientone bolted from his seat to give a bear hug to U.S. District Judge Donovan Frank after his name was called at a citizenship ceremony Tuesday in St. Cloud.
Mientone was one of 90 immigrants from 34 countries who took oaths of U.S. citizenship at St. Cloud Public Library. The new citizens took distinct paths from throughout the world to the U.S., but shared exhilaration at becoming U.S. citizens.
"I'm so proud," Irma L'Escala beamed after the ceremony. "It's a privilege to be able to do this."
L'Escala, of St. Cloud, came to the U.S. from Mexico 27 years ago. Since then, she has married and had two sons here.
Mexico and Somalia produced a big share of new citizens at Tuesday's ceremony, but others came from Moldova, Brazil, the Philippines and Canada. Most of the new citizens now live in St. Cloud or Central Minnesota, though a handful live in northern Twin Cities suburbs, said Laura Tripiciano, one of the organizers of the event.
Such citizenship ceremonies rarely were held outside the Twin Cities until 2008, when the St. Cloud chapter of Daughters of the American Revolution urged U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to hold some here, Tripiciano said.
Tuesday's ceremony featured a parade of patriotic standards: Everyone recited the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the national anthem.
Before administering the citizenship oaths, Frank advised the new citizens of the rights and responsibilities the oath confers. Frank told them they are free to think, act and worship as they choose, and urged them to practice the same tolerance they deserve from others.
"Some people have forgot that the strength of this country is the diversity of the people who live here," Frank said.
As a local immigration attorney, Tripiciano helps new citizens navigate the bureaucratic maze of the USCIS, and study for citizenship tests on U.S. civics and history.
One of Tripiciano's clients, Aguibou Barry of St. Cloud, took a citizenship oath Tuesday.
Barry originally emigrated from the African nation of Guinea to attend school in the U.S. Barry said he knew he wanted to become a U.S. citizen after his twin daughters, now 9 years old, were born here.
Barry's only regret was that his daughters couldn't leave school to attend Tuesday's ceremony.
"I wish they could be here," Barry said, "because I did this for them."