Thirty Take Oath, Become US Citizens

CAPE MAY – Thirty right hands went up May 3 to take the oath that made them United States citizens.
The second naturalization ceremony to take place in Cape May County occurred in the ballroom at Congress Hall, where 11 U.S. presidents stayed, Assignment Judge Julio Mendez, also a naturalized citizen, told the group. The historic hotel is also marking its 200th year.
Recording the milestone in their lives were relatives and friends with smartphones and cameras to send images of their loved ones countless thousands of miles across the sea to foreign lands.
The ceremony was planned for outdoors, but a soaking drizzle forced the ceremony inside.
Col. Robert Nolan, called the special court session to order and escorted Mendez and Superior Court Judges James H. Pickering Jr. and Michael J. Donohue into the room. Next, the Sheriff’s Department Honor Guard presented the colors.
Trial Court Administrator, Vicinage I, Howard H. Berchtold Jr., accompanied by daughters Lauren and Heather Berchtold sang the Star Spangled Banner as the soon-to-be citizens stood.
Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton welcomed the group to Cape May County and to the U.S. He reminded them to register to vote immediately after the ceremony. The League of Women Voters of Cape May County had a table in an adjoining room for that formal registration. Thornton urged them to take the right to vote very seriously and to exercise that vote.
Keith Dorr, a supervisory immigration services officer from Mount Laurel, made a motion to the judges to naturalize the group as citizens.
Mendez granted that motion, then asked Donohue to administer the oath to the front row. Once done, he asked Pickering to administer the oath to the back row.
Certificates were presented to the new citizens, and they took their first Pledge of Allegiance.
Curtis Bashaw, co-managing partner of Congress Hall delivered closing remarks.
By country the new citizens were:
Albania: Eklajd Mamo
Bangladesh: MD Anwarul Haque, MD Kamal, MD Mohammad Foyez
Bulgaria: Georgina Stefanov
Chile: Romina Puga Bustos
Colombia: ALbeiro Gomez Aristizabal, Antonio Zotelo Aponte, Jorge Gonzalez Montoya
Dominican Republic: Ingris Encarnacion Benavides, Eduardo Ferrer Jimenez, Elizabeth Hanson
Egypt: Hany Abdalshahed
Guatemala: Andrea Borrayo Casasola
Haiti: Louis Jean, Olange Exilus
Honduras: Omar Salgado Oseguera, Melvin Sorto-Galo, Silvia Arita
Macedonia: Nenad Gorgiev
Madagascar: Marie Rasoarivao
Mexico: Yesenia Velasquez
Pakistan: Ali Zulfiqar, Arfan Hussain, Amjad Naeem
Peru: Emilio Bejarano Rivera, Liliana Lamberty
Philippines: Bill Bien Manuel
Romania: Sergiu Marin
Thailand: Kochakorn Fontaine