Supreme Court lifts blocks against Trump birthright citizenship order
A 6-3 Supreme Court decision lifts blocks against President Trump’s order to deny citizenship to babies of undocumented immigrants and visa holders.
- 100 people from 30 countries became U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony in Phoenix on July 4th.
- Presiding Judge Roslyn O. Silver encouraged the new citizens to exercise their right to vote and free speech.
- Some new citizens expressed mixed emotions, acknowledging the difficulties faced by other immigrants.
Angelica Ortiz waited for 31 years to become an American citizen.
“I want to cry,” said the mother and grandmother from Mexico, 56, surrounded by her friends and family at a naturalization ceremony held in Phoenix on Independence Day. Ortiz worked for years as a shampoo assistant at a hair salon in Surprise while raising her daughters, learning English and paying her way through beauty school.
“I feel like I have waited all my life for this day,” she said.
The ceremony, held at South Mountain Community College July Fourth, welcomed 100 new American citizens from 30 countries and was presided over by U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver, who welcomed the new citizens with a call to vote.
“You have now a privilege, a right, that other people in the world do not have…That’s the right to vote,” said Judge Silver. “Your right to vote is worth as much as mine, as much as everybody on this podium here, and as much as the president of the United States.”
Judge Silver also praised the rights guaranteed to the new American citizens under the First Amendment.
“You have a right to speak in favor of your government, but also to speak in order to improve your government. Very few countries have the right to free speech like we have in America,” she said, to emphatic nods from the new citizens.
The 2025 ceremony included a video message from President Donald Trump welcoming new citizens and urging them to preserve American culture.
“It is with great pride and wisdom, in so many different ways, because you have such great wisdom, that I welcome you into our national family,” Trump said in the video, speaking from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. “All of the triumphs and glories of American history now belong to you. You have it in your being. You have it, like nobody’s had it before.”
Trump’s message came amid a national crackdown on undocumented migrants — a push that does not necessarily spare naturalized citizens. In January, the Trump administration revived a push to denaturalize U.S. citizens, raising the possibility of revoking the citizenship of some of his political opponents.
Still, President Donald Trump’s administration has held up naturalization as an example of doing immigration “the right way,” according to a news release sent out by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ahead of the holiday.
Amid the waving flags and background noise of drums and “God Bless America,” the new citizens said they could not ignore the mounting fear and insecurity many American immigrants face in this moment.
“Right now, I am their hope,” said Karen Rohr-Gutierrez, 31, a new American citizen from Venezuela, referring to the many members of her immediate and extended family who want to become citizens.
“These feelings, they’re all mixed,” said Rohr-Gutierrez, an interior designer and new mother, acknowledging the fear that many of her friends and family members live with daily. “I’ll be able to help all of them.”
Many young couples were in the crowd, with the shared story of one partner beginning their citizenship journey through a K-1 visa, also known as a fiancé visa.
“We would wonder for months, is the paperwork even being reviewed by anyone? Did it actually get put in the trash?” said Georgia Souza Da Silva, who was celebrating the naturalization of her husband, Elano Souza Da Silva, originally from Brazil.
The two met on a cruise ship almost a decade ago and have spent the last three years working towards his citizenship so they could live as a family.
“The process has been so hard; we are just grateful to be living as a family now,” said Elano Souza da Silva, their 2-year-old daughter playing nearby.
John and Anna McBride, another couple celebrating Anna McBride’s naturalization, talked about the complicated feelings the ceremony brought up. Anna McBride, 28, moved to the United States from Mexico four years ago and has been working towards citizenship since.
“Just with everything we read in the news right now, it’s nice to breathe a little bit,” said John McBride. “We’re so grateful for this little bit of security, but it comes with some guilt, just knowing that there are so many people living in fear about their status.”
“I was just sitting there and was like, thank God, because I know how many people are praying to be sitting here in these seats right now,” Anna McBride said.
The new citizens represented a diverse mixture of countries, including Armenia, Bosnia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Guatemala, Honduras, Liberia and Vietnam. After the ceremony, new citizens were encouraged to register to vote at a table set up in the back of the room, staffed by the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office. A second table of volunteers from the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs offered new citizens assistance with passport applications.
Eric-Lee Yu-Ward, 56, from Liberia, was there with his wife, Esther, and their children and grandchildren to celebrate his naturalization. His mother-in-law, dressed in traditional garb, had traveled in from Liberia for the event. The process of reuniting his family, which began with his wife moving to the States two decades ago, has been a long and difficult one, he said.
“For this day to come and pass, it’s a joy,” said Esther Yu-Ward, gesturing around to her family. “It’s a joy I cannot express by words.”