A group of new American citizens was officially welcomed into the community last Friday at New Bedford’s Immigrants’ Assistance Center.
Friends and family applauded, whistled in jubilation and stretched their arms to take pictures of their loved ones receiving their certificates and becoming citizens of the U.S. Some new citizens were visibly holding back tears as they went up to receive their certificates. Others warmly embraced their family and children, little American flags in hand, as they went back to their seats.
“It’s a great feeling, it’s really great,” Carl Bechgaard, a new citizen originally from Denmark, said.
Bechgaard, who is retired, has lived in the U.S. for about 30 years. He says he is excited to vote in the next election.
“I think that’s about the difference in my life that I can vote now,” he said. “Because I have been paying taxes all the way along. Otherwise I would be very much looking forward to paying taxes.”
The vestibule outside of the room the new citizens and family sat in had two tables awaiting them, one with pens and papers to register them to vote and the other with U.S. themed cupcakes.
As the vestibule started to hum with the flow of the excited crowd, Narcisa Lazic of North Macedonia said she felt that the last seven years of her life in the U.S. had been a great change for her compared to her life back home. She said the change has been positive.
“It’s a dream come true, because we wanted to come here and try it out,” Lazic said. “And we’re thankful that we were able to do that. If you do everything the right way, they appreciate that, and you get honored for that.”
Judge Susan Sullivan and Massachusetts State Rep. Christopher Hendricks gave congratulatory remarks. Hendricks emphasized the history and contributions of immigrants within New Bedford’s history and urged the new citizens to be educated voters and active members of their community.
“Know who your elected officials are, get involved with your community,” Hendricks said. “There’s more to getting involved in a democracy than just voting. I will say, make sure you’re casting an educated vote because an uneducated vote is meaningless in a robust democracy.”
