English subtitles for clip: File:President Obama Speaks at a Naturalization Ceremony.webm

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The President:
Good morning, everybody.

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Audience:
Good morning, Mr. President.

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The President:
Secretary Napolitano, Director
Mayorkas, distinguished guests,

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family and friends --
welcome to the White House.

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Happy Fourth of July.

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What a perfect way to
celebrate America's birthday --

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the world's oldest
democracy, with some of our

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newest citizens.

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I have to tell you,
just personally,

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this is one of my
favorite things to do.

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It brings me great joy and
inspiration because it reminds

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us that we are a country that
is bound together not simply by

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ethnicity or bloodlines, but
by fidelity to a set of ideas.

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And as members of our military,
you raised your hand and took an

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oath of service.

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It is an honor for me to serve
as your Commander-in-Chief.

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Today, you raised your
hand and have taken an oath

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of citizenship.

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And I could not be prouder to be
among the first to greet you as

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"my fellow Americans."

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Looking back, it was an act
of extraordinary audacity --

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a few dozen delegates, in
that hall in Philadelphia,

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daring to defy the mightiest
empire in the world,

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declaring "that these
United Colonies are,

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"and of Right ought to be
Free and Independent States."

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Two hundred and
thirty-six years later,

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we marvel at America's story.

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From a string of 13 colonies
to 50 states from sea to

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shining sea.

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From a fragile experiment in
democracy to a beacon of freedom

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that still lights the world.

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From a society of farmers
and merchants to the largest,

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most dynamic economy
in the world.

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From a ragtag army of militias
and regulars to you --

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the finest military that
the world has ever known.

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From a population of some 3
million -- free and slave --

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to more than 300 million
Americans of every color and

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every creed.

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With this ceremony today -- and
ceremonies like it across our

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country -- we
affirm another truth:

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Our American
journey, our success,

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would simply not be possible
without the generations of

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immigrants who have come to
our shores from every corner

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of the globe.

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We say it so often, we sometimes
forget what it means --

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we are a nation of immigrants.

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Unless you are one of the first
Americans, a Native American,

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we are all descended from folks
who came from someplace else --

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whether they arrived on the
Mayflower or on a slave ship,

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whether they came through
Ellis Island or crossed the

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Rio Grande.

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Immigrants signed their names to
our Declaration and helped win

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our independence.

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Immigrants helped lay the
railroads and build our cities,

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calloused hand by
calloused hand.

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Immigrants took up arms
to preserve our union,

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to defeat fascism,
and to win a Cold War.

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Immigrants and their descendants
helped pioneer new industries

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and fuel our Information Age,
from Google to the iPhone.

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So the story of immigrants in
America isn't a story of "them,"

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it's a story of "us."

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It's who we are.

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And now, all of you get
to write the next chapter.

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Each of you have traveled your
own path to this moment --

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from Cameroon and
the Philippines,

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Russia and Palau and
places in between.

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Some of you came
here as children,

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brought by parents who dreamed
of giving you the opportunities

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that they had never had.

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Others of you came as adults,
finding your way through a new

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country and a new culture
and a new language.

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All of you did something
profound: You chose to serve.

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You put on the uniform of
a country that was not yet

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fully your own.

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In a time of war, some of
you deployed into harm's way.

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You displayed the values that we
celebrate every Fourth of July

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-- duty, responsibility,
and patriotism.

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We salute a husband and
father, originally from Mexico,

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now a United States Marine,
joined today by his wife Silvia

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and daughter Juliett.

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Becoming a citizen, he says,
is "another step in the right

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"direction for my family."

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So today we congratulate
Francisco Ballesteros

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De La Rosa.

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Where's Francisco?

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(applause)

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We salute a young
woman from El Salvador,

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who came here when she was
just six, grew up in America,

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who says she "always had a
desire to serve" and who dreamed

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of becoming -- who dreams
of becoming an Army medic.

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So we congratulate
Luisa Childers.

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Luisa.

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(applause)

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We salute a young man
from Nigeria who came here

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as a child.

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"I left Nigeria," he says, "with
the dream that we all have a

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"destiny in life and we are all
born with the resources to make

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"a difference."

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We are confident he
will make a difference.

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We congratulate
Oluwatosin Akinduro.

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(applause)

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We salute a young man from
Bolivia, who came to America,

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enlisted in our military and
has volunteered to help care for

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our veterans.

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He's becoming a
citizen, he says,

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to be a "part of the freedom
that everybody is looking for."

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And so we congratulate
Javier Beltran.

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(applause)

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It has taken these men and women
-- these Americans -- years,

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even decades, to
realize their dream.

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And this, too, reminds us
of a lesson of the Fourth.

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On that July day, our Founders
declared their independence.

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But they only declared it; it
would take another seven years

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to win the war.

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Fifteen years to forge
a Constitution and a

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Bill of Rights.

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Nearly 90 years, and a great
Civil War, to abolish slavery.

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Nearly 150 years for women
to win the right to vote.

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Nearly 190 years to
enshrine voting rights.

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And even now, we're still
perfecting our union,

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still extending the
promise of America.

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That includes making sure the
American dream endures for all

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those -- like these
men and women --

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who are willing to work hard,
play by the rules and meet

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their responsibilities.

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For just as we remain
a nation of laws,

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we have to remain a
nation of immigrants.

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And that's why, as
another step forward,

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we're lifting the shadow of
deportation from serving --

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from deserving young people who
were brought to this country

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as children.

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It's why we still
need a DREAM Act --

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to keep talented young people
who want to contribute to our

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society and serve our country.

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It's why we need -- why
America's success demands --

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comprehensive
immigration reform.

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Because the lesson of
these 236 years is clear --

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immigration makes
America stronger.

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Immigration makes
us more prosperous.

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And immigration positions
America to lead in the

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21st century.

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And these young men and
women are testaments to that.

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No other nation in the world
welcomes so many new arrivals.

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No other nation
constantly renews itself,

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refreshes itself with the hopes,
and the drive, and the optimism,

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and the dynamism of each new
generation of immigrants.

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You are all one of the reasons
that America is exceptional.

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You're one of the reasons
why, even after two centuries,

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America is always young,
always looking to the future,

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always confident that our
greatest days are still to come.

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So, to all of you, I want
to wish you the happiest

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Fourth of July.

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God bless you all.

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God bless our men and women
in uniform and your families.

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And God bless the United
States of America.

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(applause)

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And with that, I want you to
join me in welcoming onto the

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stage one of America's
newest citizens.

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Born in Guatemala, he
enlisted in the Marine Corps,

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served with honor
in Afghanistan.

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And I know he's especially
proud because, in a few days,

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his father Walter --
who's also here today --

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will become a naturalized
American citizen as well.

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Where's Walter?

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There he is over there.

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(laughter)

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Good to see you, Walter.

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(applause)

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Please welcome, Lance Corporal
Byron Acevedo to lead us in the

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Pledge of Allegiance.

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Right here.

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Mr. Acevedo:
I'm nervous.

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(laughter)

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All:
I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America,

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and to the republic for which it
stands, one nation, under God,

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indivisible, with liberty
and justice for all.

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(applause)

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The President:
Thank you, everybody.

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Have a great Fourth of July.

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Congratulations to
our newest citizens.

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Yay!

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(applause)