Added meaning at citizenship ceremony

Published 5:00 am Friday, June 13, 2008

WASHINGTON — The judge slipped on his black robe as court began for the day. The prosecutor made a motion, and the clerk administered the oath.

As U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III began to speak Wednesday, American flags fluttered in the breeze and military aircraft zoomed overhead. The graves of soldiers, freshly dug and from centuries past, bore silent testimony. The 70 people summoned before him had committed no crime. For some, it was the happiest day of their lives.

Ellis had moved his Alexandria courtroom to Arlington National Cemetery to swear in immigrants from more than 30 countries as U.S. citizens, the first time a naturalization ceremony was held on the hallowed grounds in the cemetery’s 144-year history. He wanted to impress upon the new citizens the sacrifices made for their freedom.

“This is truly a wonderful day,” said Ellis, his voice cracking, as he gave an emotional tribute to the virtues of citizenship, U.S. history and the warriors buried around him. Speaking in a white-columned amphitheater dating to 1864, he told the immigrants and their families: “It is a wonderful day for each of you, because today you will join the land of the free and the home of the brave.”

The judge’s passion flowed from his past. Ellis, 68, is also an immigrant, born in Bogota, Colombia. For years, he has presided over naturalization ceremonies on the third Thursday of each month at the U.S. courthouse in Alexandria. As he approaches retirement, he decided to try a different, more meaningful setting, court officials said.

“I did it to honor our country’s warriors and to give the new citizens a sense for what makes this country great,” Ellis said. The judge, known for his thorough legal opinions and an occasionally irascible demeanor, said he “didn’t want any politicians” attending the ceremony. After the immigrants took their oath, Ellis greeted each one personally, choking up as he hugged a new citizen wearing a U.S. Navy uniform.

He then told a woman from Iraq that he was “honored that you chose to be an American.”

John Metzler, the cemetery’s superintendent, said that the ceremony was “very unusual” but that when the court asked for permission, “we were very honored, and certainly said yes right away.” He said citizenship issues are an important part of the cemetery’s history. Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee had his citizenship restored at Arlington after losing it because of his role in the Civil War.

Although immigrants have become citizens at public places, including on the Mall and at the Statue of Liberty, the majority of the country’s 650,000 naturalization ceremonies that occurred last year were held at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices. Chris Rhatigan, a spokeswoman for the agency, which approves citizenship applications, said judges have sworn in citizens in classrooms and parks but usually hold such ceremonies in courtrooms.

Under federal law, only citizenship applicants who are also changing their names must appear before a federal judge. Of the 70 at Wednesday’s ceremony, who hailed from countries that included El Salvador, South Korea, China, Mexico, Canada, Lebanon, Australia and Albania, 67 were adopting new names.