If you would please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you.

You may be seated.

There were a couple of things that I wanted to say very quickly before we do the call of countries and the oath of allegiance.

I know you're all familiar with it because it's one of the things we can ask you about in the naturalization exam.

You know it was written in 1776 by Thomas Jefferson on behalf of the Founding Fathers, that he was explaining to England why we wanted to be our own country.

And everyone knows the first line of the second paragraph that says we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Unfortunately, that's all a lot of people know about the Declaration of Independence.

One of the reasons the United States of America became the United States of America was so that people like you could come here.

And there's a reason for that.

The founding fathers knew, and it's something that I know, that each of you brings strength with you.

The life that you've lived, the education you've gotten, the failures you've had that you've learned from.

All of these things give you a unique way of seeing the world, a unique way of seeing problems.

You represent the entire world, we naturalize people like yourself from every country, but just where you're from is not the only strength that you have.

It is the life that you've lived.

And I want to take a moment today to say thank you for coming.

Thank you for coming to this country.

Thank you for bringing your strength here.

And I want to ask you to help us to have help us in one of our oldest traditions, and that is we are always trying to be better than we are at any one given moment.

Help help us with the strength that you have to do better to be better.

Yet this goes back to the founding.

When Thomas Jefferson wrote, all men are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.

Where we were as a country was a world away from where we said we want it to be.

Help us to continue that tradition.

In today's ceremony, there are 19 individuals from ten different countries.

Stand up, turn around, wave, because somebody back there wants your picture, and then have a seat, and I'll read the next country.

As I said, this is a wonderful time to make some noise because they have worked hard to get here.

You've been with them through the process, you know this.

So, in no particular order other than alphabetical, Australia.

United Kingdom, and Vietnam, now at this time I will be administering the oath of allegiance.

Those of you who are naturalizing today.

That I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure.

All allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince.

Potentate, state or sovereignty, state or sovereignty.

Of whom or which, I have heretofore, been a subject or citizen, that I will support and defend the Constitution, that I will support and defend the Constitution.

And the laws of the United States of America.

Against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

And allegiance to the same.

That I will bear arms.

On behalf of the United States.

When required by the law.

That I'll perform non-combatant service.

Of national importance.

Under civilian direction.

When required by the law.

When required by the law.

And that I take this obligation freely.

Without any mental reservation.

Without any mental reservation.

Or purpose of evasion.

Or purpose of evasion.

So help me God.

Congratulations, you are now our newest United States citizens.

You may now be seated.

At this point, we will hear from our keynote speaker, DeAndre Hayes, the City of Tulsa Chief Resilience Officer.

After which we will have the presentation of certificates.

Congratulations to you all.

We'll be saying that all day and probably for a long time, so get used to it.

We're just so proud to have you here and a part of our community.

My name is DeAntre Hayes, and I have the honor of serving as the Chief Resilience Officer for the City of Tulsa.

I am so excited to be here before you today as we celebrate one of the most meaningful moments in your life.

The day you officially become citizens of the United States of America.

Give them a round of applause, y'all.

This moment represents more than paperwork or procedure.

It represents courage, sacrifice, hope strong enough to cross borders, overcome obstacles, and believe in the possibility of a better future.

Many of you left behind places, traditions, and even loved ones to pursue opportunity, safety, and dreams for your families.

Your journey deserves to be honored.

Citizenship is not only where you were born, it's about what you are willing to contribute.

And here in Tulsa, we understand that our strength has always come from people who chose to build something better together.

One of the most powerful symbols of our city is the Tulsa flag.

You all had it in your bag, and I see some of you wearing it.

And I want to tell you a little bit about the flag because it tells a story about who we are as a community.

The blue symbolizes the Arkansas River, which served as a source to help our community thrive.

The gold line represents the discovery of oil in 1901 that sparked tremendous growth and prosperity for our city.

One of the deepest tragedies in our city's history, but inside that red circle is a star, which represents hope and resilience.

People still chose to rebuild to heal and to believe in a brighter future.

In many ways, that star reflects the spirit of every person in this room today.

Because becoming an American citizen is an act of hope.

So I encourage you to participate fully.

Vote, serve, build community, and share your traditions proudly.

Our city is better because you are here.

Congratulations on this extraordinary achievement and welcome home.

I've been doing this for a number of years.

This is actually the first time I get to play with a podium.

Normally I'm juggling a ton of papers.

When I read your name, please come up and get your certificate.

I'm going to hand it to you.

Okay, so I'll hand it.

Yeah.

And then you'll get your certificate from her.

And I'm I have to do it this way, because I have not actually had a chance to look at all of the certificates yet, but there is something that I know is true.

You all have wonderful, lovely, beautiful names.

And I am not naive enough to think that I am going to say them right, but I am going to do my best.

And in advance, I would like to say if I do mispronounce your name, I do apologize.

Daniel Mohammed goes to you.

Now we will hear from Tabitha Adome, who is the City of Tulsa Immigrant and Refugee Affairs Manager.

Thank you.

Good morning and congratulations to you all once again.

As the Andre said, you are going to be hearing congratulations the rest of the day and maybe throughout the week.

So once again, congratulations.

It is also the beginning of a new chapter in your life.

So I'm truly excited for each one of you.

And I am the immigrant and refugees affairs manager here at the City of Tulsa's Department of Resilience and Equity.

I just want to take a moment and recognize what it took for you to be where you are today.

This process is not just about time, it is about systems that you had to navigate and learn from.

It is also about things that you had to learn and unlearn.

It is also about the core memories of your home countries that you had to carry with you along the way.

And so what I'm trying to say is there are several stages in this process, but there are truly some days that are truly monumental, and I am certain today is one of those days for you all.

Now it is possible that as immigrants, we may all have different stories or experiences.

But when you truly look at it, the immigrant journey is a shared one.

We have different experiences, but we have familiar feelings and shared experiences.

That is to say that today is an important day because we are united in these experiences.

Also, I know that we may all, as I said earlier, it is possible that we all arrived here through different paths, but at the end of the day, we all arrive in this great country united in hope and in a commitment to building a future here in this great nation.

Now, I am saying all this for you to understand that I am here as a city official, but I am also here as a fellow immigrant who understand what it took for each one of you to be where you are today.

And that is why I want to take a moment to truly appreciate and applaud your resilience.

Once again, congratulations to you all.

Thank you.

Now I'm just going to take a moment to thank all those officials that made today possible.

I like to thank our chief resilience officer, Gentil Hayes.

Thank you for your leadership and support.

Also, I like to thank all my colleagues that are here and supporting this ceremony.

I will also like to thank all the beautiful faces that we have here today.

I like to thank our friends, our families, our colleagues, our neighbors.

Thank you for being here today and wearing such beautiful smiles and just making the ceremony a beautiful one.

Now, our department, which is the department of resilience and equity, is taxed with creating an equitable and inclusive Tulsa for all its residents.

And so there are several programs that we have in place that helps us to achieve this vision.

Now I'm just going to mention a few of them.

If you look at the go back that has been given to you, we have several flyers in there.

They contain the information of all the programs that we have.

So when you get home after the celebration, you can just take your time and go through and see all the programs that we have.

Now we have the language access program, which helps us to reach our bilingual and multilingual residents.

And so this uh language access program is just to aid those of us who uh English may not be our first language to be able to access city services and programs.

And so when you come to the city, we have interpreters and then translate translators who help us to communicate with our residents that may not have English as their first language.

So we have that program.

We also work with several boards, commissions, and authorities, and this authorities and commissions are made up of people from uh our communities.

It means that they are culturally diverse, linguistically diverse, and so you can be part of any of these commissions.

We have the Asian Affairs Commissions, we have the Hispanic Affairs Commissions, we have the Human Right Commission, and we have other several other boards and commissions.

So if you want to serve on any of these commissions, you're welcome to do so.

You can find the application form on the City of Uh Tulsa's website.

Also, we have some of the application forms outside.

So once we close and you think you're interested, you can go out there.

We have people ready to answer your questions and just help you fill out those forms.

And also, um, on the topic of creating memories, we want to make sure that you go home with something memorable, and so right after this, we're going to come up to the podium here and take photos with the city officials, and you can find this photo on our Facebook page.

If you go to the bottom of your program, you should see the information here.

Resilient Tulsa, you can follow us.

You will find the photo there, so after the program, you can go there and get a copy for yourself.

Also, this ceremony is being recorded, and you can find the recording here at TGov.

And so you can go online here after the ceremony if you want to watch with friends and family again.

You can go back and watch that.

Once again, congratulations to you all, and thank you.

Yeah, there you go.