On the second floor of the Eldon B. Mahon U.S. Courthouse in downtown Fort Worth, the bright smiles of dozens of newly sworn-in U.S. citizens competed with the sunbeams spilling through the tall glass windows of the courtroom.
The group gathered inside the courthouse on Sept. 17 for a naturalization ceremony, marking the end of a long path to becoming a citizen. It’s a process that can span anywhere from three to six years, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services — without even considering how long it can take to first attain a green card.
There to greet the new citizens during the ceremony was the keynote speaker, Texas A&M System Chairman Robert Albritton. In his view, there was no better way to spend an afternoon that happened to coincide with Citizenship Day and Constitution Day.
“America has never been a country where everyone came from the same place, practiced the same faith, spoke with the same accent, or agreed on everything,” Albritton said. “What has held us together is something more fundamental. A shared commitment to our Constitution, to the rule of law and to the idea that people from different backgrounds can become one people and govern themselves.”
Queenie Belle Estrada-Pass was one of those new citizens smiling back at Albritton. The 31-year-old from the Philippines reflected on her long journey to citizenship, accompanied by her husband and 18-month-old daughter…