Children honored in citizenship ceremony at the Minnesota Children's Museum
Eight-year-old Fatuma Mohamed is originally from Kenya, but Friday she was one of the 23 children honored as a U.S. citizen at the Minnesota Children's Museum in St. Paul.
"I want to be a doctor. Because you help people, and they get happier," Mohamed said.
Fatuma's older sister, thirteen-year-old Sumeyo, said that she is glad to be a U.S. citizen.
"I'm honored and happy that I finally get to be a citizen.... I'm excited to be here," she said.
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U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services welcomed the children ages 4-14 to receive their certificates of citizenship at the ceremony.
The event is a celebration for children who derived citizenship through their parents. Some of the children received citizenship through adoption, while others gained citizenship through immigrant parents who are naturalized citizens.
Federal Judge David T. Schultz presided over the ceremony and presented the certificates to the children. After administering the citizenship oath, he had a message for the new citizens.
"I do want to acknowledge that all of you in one way or another have endured significant hardship to come to this country, whether you remember it or whether it was simply something that your parents endured to bring you here...and we thank you for the sacrifice that you've already made."
The children came from 12 different countries, including Somalia, Kenya, Cameroon, Ecuador, Guatemala, South Africa, Vietnam, Canada, Thailand, Korea, Ethiopia and Uganda.