Forty-Five to Become New U.S. Citizens at the Hartford Public Library

HARTFORD, CONN. -U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will present 45 candidates for naturalization to the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut tonight, Thurs. Feb. 20th. The Honorable Donna F. Martinez, United States Magistrate Judge, will administer the Oath of Allegiance to America's newest citizens during a special ceremony held at the Hartford Public Library.

Honored guests and speakers include: The Honorable Donna F. Martinez, United States Magistrate Judge; Nancy Wyman, Connecticut Lieutenant Governor; Denise Merrill, Connecticut Secretary of State; The Honorable Richard Blumenthal, United States Senator; Maura Marx, Institute of Museum and Library Services Deputy Director for Library Services; Matthew Poland, Chief Executive Officer, Hartford Public Library; Eduardo V. Genao, Assistant Superintendent for Early Literacy and Parent Engagement, Hartford Public Schools; and Leah Van Wilgen, Hartford Field Office Director, USCIS. Special musical performances will be by The Hartford Public Schools Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School Choir and the Hartford High School Show Choir. Boy Scouts Troop 1443 will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

The 45 candidates come from the following 25 countries: Albania, Argentina, Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Georgia, India, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Mexico, Nepal, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Suriname, Thailand, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and USSR.

The candidates participating in this ceremony reside in the following Connecticut cities and towns: Branford, Bristol, Danbury, Ellington, Farmington, Glastonbury, Greenwich, Hamden, Hartford, Manchester, Meriden, Middletown, Milford, New Britain, New Haven, North Haven, Old Greenwich, Rocky Hill, Waterbury, West Hartford, West Haven, Wethersfield, Willington, and Windsor.

For more information on USCIS and its programs, please visit www.uscis.gov or follow us on Twitter (@uscis), YouTube (/uscis) and the USCIS blog The Beacon .