By Riley McCoy
The Register-Herald
BECKLEY — An entire courtroom erupted into applause Friday as a new group of U.S. citizens completed their immigration journey.
At the Robert C. Byrd Courthouse in Charleston, more than 50 immigrants took the Oath of Allegiance to become United States citizens. The ceremony was presided over by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge B. McKay Mignault, who led her first naturalization program under the guidance and continuity of Judge Joseph R. Volk, who typically presides over such events. The court formally accepted petitions submitted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and administered the Oath of Allegiance, completing the applicants’ transition to citizenship.
Chief Judge Albert Diaz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit served as the keynote speaker and framed citizenship as allegiance to democratic principles rather than birthplace.
“We are a country whose citizens are distinguished not by where they came from but by their allegiance to a set of beliefs and founding principles,” Diaz said. “Like those [principles] found in the Declaration of Independence.”
Diaz urged new citizens to participate fully in civic life, particularly by voting. Members of the Kanawha County Clerk’s Office waited in the first-floor lobby to help register new citizens to vote.
“The oath you’ve taken today is one with many great responsibilities,” Diaz said. “Among those is the duty to vote, and you have no excuse because you have somebody outside waiting to register!”
Beside the registration booth, Mohammed Elassal took photos with his family while waiting to register to vote.
“Well, I arrived to the United States in 2006, so it’s been almost 20 years,” Elassal said. “I’ve been here since I was 15 years old, nearly half my life.” Elassal added that he was not worried about recent immigration enforcement headlines, describing himself as someone who “always takes it easy with people” and “not a hostile guy.” Looking ahead, he said he planned to register to vote following the ceremony, calling it a natural next step after completing the citizenship process.
According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. citizenship is the culmination of a years-long federal process that includes background checks and requires applicants to demonstrate good moral character, meet English-language proficiency standards, pass a civics examination and live continuously in the United States for at least five years.
On a day full of beginnings, Chief Judge B. McKay Mignault of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of West Virginia described the ceremony in personal terms.
“I’m always a little bit nervous when you come out and do ceremonies like this just because they’re so important to the new citizens and their families,” Mignault said. “I think it was wonderful and there’s always such a sense of joy in these ceremonies.”
As families gathered for photos and new citizens registered to vote, the courtroom slowly emptied, marking the end of a legal process and the beginning of civic life for more than 50 new Americans.
“I truly am so glad that they’re here,” Mignault said. “They are what make up the fabric of America, and we welcome them and wish them luck as citizens.”
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