Immigrants from Mexico, Cambodia, Germany, and Russia gathered at the La Plata County Courthouse for their naturalization ceremony. It was the first event of its kind for Durango.
All new citizens must take the oath of allegiance at such a ceremony. But, before last week, candidates in the Southwest corner of Colorado would have to travel across the state.
Eva Rupp is Section Chief at Citizenship and Immigration Services in Denver, Colorado. She traveled to Durango to help officiate the ceremony.
“We have judicial ceremonies in Colorado Springs, Grand Junction, now here in Durango, and also in Denver. It's a great service to the community to have ceremonies closer to where they live, and it's also just a wonderful thing for the community to see and to support our new citizens,” said Rupp.
Juan Zavala is a newly naturalized citizen. He’s originally from Guanajuato, Mexico, and lives in Montrose, Colorado. Zavala spoke through a translator.
“I am very happy. I just accomplished something, something big. After all this time, to become a citizen, for it to come to fruition now… I say anything can be accomplished. Yes, we can! You can do anything. Have courage,” said Zavala.
Alfredo Fonseca lives in Bayfield, Colorado, but is originally from Guadalajara, Mexico. His wife was naturalized at the ceremony in Durango. He had to travel to Denver last year for his event.
“[We are] so happy,” said Fonseca. “Today is the first time they make [the ceremony] here in Durango. We're so excited… not to drive too far to Denver.”
The La Plata County courthouse plans to host more naturalization ceremonies in the future.
This story is part of Voices From the Edge of the Colorado Plateau. Voices is a reporting collaboration between KSUT Public Radio and KSJD Community Radio. It seeks to cover underrepresented communities in the Four Corners. The multi-year project will cover Native, Indigenous, Latino/Latina, and other communities across southwest Colorado.
Explore more Voices stories on the KSUT website.
