for 20 people, including an Afghan interpreter
credited with saving five U.S. soldiers. “Welcome
to you and your country from a grateful nation,”
he said later on Twitter.
Others who are sworn in are as varied as the
country. Rosenberger, whose father brought
her to the U.S. in 1968 so he could work for
an electronics manufacturer, put off applying
for citizenship for years in part because she
liked having a U.K. passport. Then, when she
did attempt it, her paperwork was lost. She re-
applied in November. “I thought, the way this
country is going I better get my citizenship now.”
Others are more recent arrivals. Mulugeta
Turuneh came to the United States as a refugee
from Eritrea in 2011 and settled in Iowa City,
where he works as a truck driver. He took the
oath in Des Moines after a delay of several
months because of the outbreak.
“God bless America,” Turuneh said afterward. “I’m
so happy here. Everything is nice. Everything
is cool.”
Iris Lapipan, who came to the U.S. from the
Philippines as a child in the 1990s, was among
those naturalizing at a recreation center in El
Cajon, California. She said she is looking forward
to being able to travel outside the United States
and participate in the election. She said she was
leaning toward former Vice President Joe Biden.
“I’m excited that I can vote, especially with what
is going on now,” she said.
Rosenberger is leaning the other way, saying she
is generally conservative and would most likely
support Trump. “Now that I’m a citizen I’m very
excited about voting,” she said. “You have the
right now, so use it.”