Dozens of people from 25 countries officially became U.S. citizens at Petco Park Wednesday.
The San Diego Padres, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services hosted a naturalization ceremony, where 49 participants took the Oath of Allegiance.
“This is emotional for me,” said Carlota da Costa Muhlig, who was born in Brazil. “I’ve already cried a lot.”
She said she values the safety and freedom she has in the U.S.
“I think Americans don't know, really, what they have,” she said. “When we come here, we come with a lot of hope, a lot of expectations, and we find it better than we imagined.”
Safety, especially for women, was also a top priority for Naman Sheel. She moved here with her family from India.
“I can move here freely,” she said. “I can wear whatever I want and, you know, be out as long as I want.”
Sheel has lived in the U.S. for seven years. She’s spent four of them in a long-distance relationship with her husband, who is joining her here in a few weeks.
“I'm really excited for him. It's his new life, too,” she said. “Super, super pumped about that.”
Some new citizens said they appreciated the friendliness and open-mindedness they’ve found in the U.S.
Sam Jang said he notices cultural differences at work. He was born in South Korea, attended college at UC San Diego and now works at a startup.
“If you're young, it's really hard to open up discussions or give your thoughts and ideas in meetings,” he said about Korea. “But here, I can talk freely to my CEO and CSO, and they really respect my ideas.”
Maryam Salehijam was born in Iran and has Canadian citizenship. She’s lived here with her husband for several years, but she wanted to become a citizen in order to vote.
“Having been in the U.S. at the last election, I realized how important every vote is,” she said. “This one, especially, because women's rights are on the line.”
Padres game attendees joined the new citizens in the Pledge of Allegiance after the ceremony.
Officials said this was the second naturalization ceremony held at Petco Park. The first was in 2019.
