Thank you for all you have done, and welcome into the American family.

This is the greeting Beaverton City Councilor Betty Bode gave to the hundreds who packed the room at the Beaverton City Library, especially the 31 candidates seated in front getting ready to become citizens.



With little American flags clutched by children dressed in formal clothes and some Oshkosh overalls, family members scurried around taking photos of friends and relatives being sworn in.



The naturalization ceremony was timed to the Presidents Day holiday. Taking the oath to become U.S. citizens were 31 immigrants. They came from Mexico (6), The United Kingdom (5), Ukraine (4) China (3), the Philippines (3), India (2), Venezuela (1), The Dominican Republic (1), Cuba (1), Malaysia (1), Nicaragua (1), Bulgaria (1), Mauritius (1), and El Salvador (1). For more facts about immigration, visit the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics.



Bode told them, "You are American by choice not by birth. I find you tend to sing the national anthem a little louder."



The keynote speaker, Hussein Al-Baiaty, a refugee from Iraq, encouraged the newly sworn in to "give back to the community, it's the best way to receive." Al-Baiaty ended by saying, "Seek knowledge, spread peace."

-- Benjamin Brink