New York – Congressman Charles Rangel was one of the hundreds who filled City College’s Great Hall with mixed emotions for United States Citizenship and Immigration Service’s Naturalization Ceremony on September 17. Like many, his pride and joy was tempered by the somber reality that one of the newly sworn citizens would not be there to enjoy the benefits that they had worked so hard to earn.

Rangel, the ceremony’s keynote speaker, was on hand to present the certificate of citizenship posthumously to the family of Cpl. Juan Alcántara, the 22-year Washington Heights resident and Army soldier that was killed in Iraq this past August.

"The spirit of what he lived and died for is something that those of us who live on must continue to make certain is not forgotten," said the 19-term Congressman who represents Upper Manhattan.

Rangel spoke of the liberties that heroes like Alcántara had helped secure and that so many native-born Americans take for granted. Yet, staring into the audience of more than 400, the Congressman knew that he did not need to lecture the newly minted Americans of their responsibilities.

“I know that you, more than most Americans, will be registered, will be participating, and will be trying to make this even a better country than she already is,” said Rangel. “You know-- even better than I -- that you can go all over the world and yet people want to come to be a part of this Republic. Is she perfect? Not by a long shot. But your chances of becoming someone great is being created right here in this Great Hall, in this great city of New York."

STILL A NATION OF IMMIGRANTS
The day’s speakers, which included USCIS New York District Manager Andrea Quarantillo, City College President Gregory H. Williams, and City University of New York Vice-Chancellor Jay Hershenson, spoke of the important contributions that immigrants have and continue to make to this country.

The roll call of the men and women who have graduated from City College forms the deep poetry of the American promise," said President Williams. "It is the powerful music of the American Dream. The dream that says: no matter where I come from…no matter how much money I have or what my history may be…I can make anything of myself, with talent and hard work and a first-class education. You are now a part of that dream."

A total of 242 people, hailing from over 50 countries, took an oath to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States on what USCIS celebrated national as Citizenship Day. The largest contingent in the New York ceremony came from the Dominican Republic (105), followed by Guyana (24) and Jamaica (16). A great majority (77%) came from Latin America and the Caribbean.

REMEMBERING A FALLEN HERO
Video segments, including a taped congratulatory message from President George W. Bush, were sprinkled in between the speaker’s speeches. Yet for Rangel, the greatest source of both joy and inspiration was the strength that the Alcántara family displayed by just participating.

“I was so glad that his family took the oath with you because it means that Juan continues to be remembered,” Rangel told the newly minted Americans. “These great United States are indebted to him. He's helped make it possible for people like you to be able to truly say that you were sworn in the land of the freedom and that certainly you were sworn in among a family that represented the home of the brave.

As a photo of the fallen soldier played on the screen to his right, Rangel recalled his own military experiences, his own brush with death in Korea and how the young soldier had been part of the same Second Infantry Division that the Congressman had served more than 50 years earlier. Seeing the familiar uniform, he wondered aloud what would have been said about him had he not been spared. He hoped that his own answer would not only be a comfort to the family as time went by, but also a reminder to all in the room of the responsibilities of citizenship.

“At the end of the day, I hoped that they would say that while I was missed, the hopes, dreams and aspirations that I had were not just wasted. That because of my sacrifice, other people would have the opportunity to see that wars are ended, that peace remains, that poverty is just a word, that health care and education and job opportunity are secured,” said Rangel “These are the things that Juan Alcántara asked you to do. To pick up the pieces of his dreams and to make this country what it can be."

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