Hundreds of students packed the bleachers at the gym at Archbishop Alter High School in the Dayton suburb of Kettering. But instead of watching a game on the court, they looked out on rows of chairs filled with people anxiously waiting for the ceremony to begin.
Some in the crowd had miniature American flags in hand, while gripping their new citizen packets in the other. A few got teary eyed as they repeat the Oath of Allegiance.
鈥淐ongratulations, you are all United States citizens,鈥� U.S. District Judge Michael Newman said as the gym erupted in applause.
It鈥檚 been a volatile year of immigration policy in the U.S. as foreign nationals face heightened scrutiny to stay here. But citizen naturalization ceremonies are still happening, like the one the U.S. District Court in Dayton held at the Kettering school last month.
The group at the February ceremony included 27 people from 21 different countries.
One of those new citizens was Marie Antonette Terte Parker, 46, from the Philippines.
鈥淚've been in the United States seven years and nine months, I believe. I came here April 2018,鈥� Terte Parker said.
She moved here after some time in South Korea to marry her husband, a U.S. citizen. She's been living and working in Dayton with a green card.
鈥淚 decided to apply for naturalization, because of course I want to vote and I want to travel,鈥� Terte Parker said.
Final step in a lengthy process
Terte Parker was able to get through the process within six months, but for others it can take years. Gaining citizenship can be a long road and, in the last year, the Trump administration made it even longer.
The Homeland Security department with more questions that requires twice as many correct answers. Beginning last year, Immigration and Customs Enforcement started to occasionally arrest people in federal or immigration courtrooms. Plus, the of countries where migrants are barred from obtaining U.S. immigrant visas has shot up to more than since Trump took office last January.
鈥淚 am scared about what's going on right now. I don't want to get deported,鈥� Terte Parker said.
U.S. District Judge Newman, who recited the pledge the new citizens made at the February ceremony, said making it through the citizenship process is far from a guarantee.
鈥淢any of the folks that I talked to today are so happy and relieved, quite frankly, but happy that they are now part of our culture,鈥� he said.
'A pay-it-forward moment'
The U.S. District Court in Dayton has been holding naturalization ceremonies in community spaces like schools for years. The shift in immigration policy isn鈥檛 putting a stop to that effort.
鈥淲e're trying to reach out to the community to make the community realize that we're part of this process together,鈥� Newman said. 鈥淎nd we think this is part of our civic duty to meet with young people and to do the ceremony here today.鈥�
It鈥檚 the third year in a row that the court has held a ceremony at this school.
鈥淚t's a really personal, almost a pay-it-forward moment for me,鈥� said Lourdes Lambert, president and CEO of Archbishop Alter High School.
Lambert鈥檚 parents immigrated from Cuba during the revolution there. She said watching her parents pursuing citizenship was a humbling experience.
鈥淚t's a rigorous process. I remember being 10, 11 years old, quizzing my parents. It's a hard test. I don't know that those of us that were born here could pass that test,鈥� Lambert said.
Before the start of the ceremony, Lambert invited Alter High School senior Miguel Delgado to speak about his family鈥檚 experience with naturalization after immigrating here from the Philippines.
鈥�The privilege of being an American is often taken for granted. It's a place where you can speak freely, dream boldly, and work toward something greater. It's the place that I know I could sleep knowing that I'm protected, and I hope you feel that safety too,鈥� Delgado said to the crowd.
Terte Parker says now that she鈥檚 a citizen, she鈥檚 excited to be able to leave the country and visit her family in the Philippines, and more generally, live without fear in America.
鈥淔or the seven years that I was here in the United States, I was a lawful citizen. And now that I am a U.S. citizen, yeah, it's been a great honor,鈥� Terte Parker said, smiling.
She said she鈥檚 not just grateful to be a naturalized citizen, she鈥檚 grateful to the Dayton community that accepted her before she was.