Citizen Iain: The Movie

Background...


[Or at DailyMotion here.]

[Fade into photo of the seal of the Unites States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana. Edit. Video of Iain walking into the courtroom and being shown where to sit; he looks for Liss and then grins and waves. Edit.]

Judge: This will be a day to remember for everyone here. A naturalization ceremony is an important event in the life of the country, and this community, as well as in the life of a new citizen.

[Edit.]

DHS Officer: Your Honor, may it please the court: My name is Frank [Inaudible]; I am an immigration services officer with the Chicago District Office of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services and the United States Department of Homeland Security. It is my privilege today to present before the court 46 applicants for United States citizenship from 21 different countries. [Edit.] Your Honor, I respectfully move that this court confer United States citizenship on each of these applicants for naturalization, upon their taking of the oath of allegiance, as is required by law.

Judge: Thank you, Mr. [Inaudible]. Your motion will be granted. [Edit.] And in just a little bit, you will become Americans—citizens of the United States of America. [Edit.] This country, the United States, is made up of people from every place on the globe. Not just people who were born here, citizens by birth, but people like you—citizens by choice, who bring to this country the gift of variety, the gift of the richness of backgrounds, many things that were good about the culture, the arts, the [inaudible], the religions of the countries from which they came. By bringing these gifts, they created, they helped create, the beautiful mosaic that is America today. [Edit.] But those people who came to our shores brought more than that to make America great, because the people who come to America to become citizens are not ordinary people. They are not timid, or fearful. They are among the bravest and most positive-thinking people on earth. [Edit.] What an act of courage that is. What a statement of hope that is. What a demonstration of determination that is. America is a much greater country because every month, new citizens bring us more courage, more hope, more determination than we had before.

[Edit. Iain is seen, along with other people, from behind, raising their right hands.]

Group of applicants, in unison: I will swear to defend…the Constitution and laws…of the United States of America…against all enemies foreign and domestic…

[Edit. Everyone in the room is standing while the Star Spangled Banner plays.]

Judge: —to those of us who are already citizens before we came into this room this morning, because we leave this room today as citizens of a nation with more hope, more courage, more determination than when we started. So congratulations not just to our new citizens, and congratulations to you, but congratulations to all of us. Thank you. [Applause; edit. Picture of Iain with judge.]