CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Smiles beamed and tears fell at the Wintrust Arena in Chicago as nearly 2,000 candidates became U.S. citizens.
"I honestly feel like a kid on Christmas morning … So I don't care what else happened this year, but like this is the best — this is it for me,” said Elena Grigore, who emigrated from Romania when she was 24. “So very, very happy."
Nearly 20 years after Grigore arrived in the United States, she has a daughter and owns a business.
Grigore said she applied for U.S. citizenship after Roe vs. Wade was overturned and after seeing how easily something like her immigration status could change.
Wednesday’s naturalization ceremony was the largest performed by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Dandy Eshun said he decided to be a citizen three years ago, after coming to the United States from Ghana in 2011 to join the army.
Eshun said the army didn't work out, but he added that being a U.S. citizen is still opening up a lot of doors for him.
"Now I can vote,” Eshun said. “And now I can travel all over the world without a visa. I can bring my mom, bring my dad and … continue my education."
For Tanja Aitamurto, becoming a U.S. citizen gives her a chance to feel more settled in the U.S.
"I think maybe — well afterwards, maybe after this ceremony — I will feel more grounded, kind of more established here in the United States,” Aitamurto said. “Now, I'm a citizen … maybe I'll feel more empowered."
Aitamurto has been in the United States for 15 years after emigrating from Finland. She's now a professor at the University of Illinois Chicago.
Florence Ogunedina came to the United States from Nigeria.
"I'm so happy because this is the country of freedom,” she said. “You have freedom and this country of opportunities. I'm so happy to be here today."
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