Home of Today's Common Sense

Published – Brownsville Herald August 26, 2007 

Perhaps those of you who follow my columns will remember my description of the problems faced by a legal resident to secure citizenship and the help provided by the offices of Congressman Ortiz. The final or should I say beginning chapter was written on Wednesday when one our newest U.S. Citizens pledged her oath of citizenship and then promptly afterwards registered to vote. I took the opportunity to attend the Citizenship ceremony and can recommend it to get your patriotic juices flowing again. I have found that many of us who follow the political activities can become jaded and view our rights and obligations as citizens quite casually. After seeing the wide eyed optimism of the new citizens first hand and the genuine pride in the eyes of some pretty hard bitten veteran bureaucrats, I came away with a brighter outlook to the future. I would recommend that each elected official make a point of being present at the ceremonies on a regular basis. 

As with many times that I come into contact with the bureaucracy, some of the activities posed some questions. During the ceremony all the applicants took the oath of allegiance as millions have in the past, but I had never considered it in light of today’s political atmosphere of “diversity” rather than that of the “melting pot” of our beginnings. The oath as given in English and the language best understood by those qualified to be naturalized in other languages is: “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce all allegiance and fidelity to any state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.” 

Of particular note is the part related to the renouncement of allegiance to their previous country. We have all read in these pages that several countries have provided for dual citizenship and some encourage voting in domestic elections even from foreign states. Mexico comes to quickly to mind, the Philippines also recently provided for it as well and I am told that Spain not only grants dual citizenship but considers all its former subjects and some family members as Spanish citizens even to the point of impressing them into the military when those that meet the very liberal criteria determined by Spain. 

I can easily understand the desire of these nations to maintain the connection with these brave folks, who have taken the risk of leaving the surroundings that they knew, and faced the real and perceived hardships in search of the “Dream” that millions have done in the past. It is not a real jump of faith to see these pioneers as the best and brightest of their native lands and the fact that they did not try to subvert U.S. law and followed the rules supports the assessment of good character. Certainly, a first consideration would be the remittances sent home to help their families and as a by product helps maintain the solubility of the homeland, but even more important may be when these same pioneers become successful and return home even temporarily to build new businesses and share their hard won experiences by supporting a different, and improved, political and economic system. Should one of our new pioneers decide to vote in a local or national election in the native country it appears that would be a violation of the oath, and certainly if he or she exercised a policy enforcement activity such as representing the homeland as a Consul, Attache or even Honorary Counsel with or without registering and an agent of a foreign government could be so construed as well. At the least activities such as voting in a foreign election or government service are conflicts of interest to both nations, but it is doubtful in today’s conscientiousness that it would rise to the level of “conduct which is so inconsistent with retention of U.S. citizenship that it compels a conclusion that the relinquishment of U.S. citizenship is intended.” It still should be considered in light of the possibility of national upheaval however such as that where Japanese citizens were interned or other groups have become the subject of focus of “anti-American activities”. 

As I had never previously attended a Naturalization ceremony, I wondered why the oath was given in languages other than English and found that the following allowances are made: The requirement to have an elementary level of reading and writing English is excepted for persons over fifty, who have been in the US for 20 years or more as a permanent resident; and for persons over 55 , in the US for 15 years as a permanent resident). I also inquired about the requirements and exemptions for those that have served in the United States armed forces and found that it was the only section of the Immigration and Naturalization Act that allows persons who have not been lawfully admitted for permanent residence to file their own application for naturalization. Any person who has served honorably during a qualifying time may file an application at any time in his or her life if, at the time of enlistment, reenlistment, extension of enlistment or induction, such person shall have been in the United States, the Canal Zone, American Samoa, or Swains Island, or on board a public vessel owned or operated by the United States for noncommercial service, whether or not he has been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence. 

. An applicant who has served honorably during; World War I – 4/16/17 to 11/11/18; World War II – 9/1/39 to 12/31/46; Korean Conflict – 6/25/50 to 7/1/55; Vietnam Conflict – 2/28/61 to 10/15/78; Operation Desert Shield/ Desert Storm – 8/29/90 to 4/11/91; Operation Enduring Freedom – 9/11/01 to ……. ; Or any other period which the President, by Executive Order, has designated as a period in which the Armed Forces of the United States are or were engaged in military operations involving armed conflict with hostile foreign forces.  “Applicants who have served honorably during any of the above conflicts may apply for naturalization based on military service and no period of residence or specified period of physical presence within the United States or any State shall be required.” As the seasons for local elections and the well under weigh 2008 national elections progress, this face to face meeting with those who look to the U.S. as the place of dreams where dreams come true really shot me with a sense of patriotic fervor that I haven’t felt since I finished military training and saluted the flag to the refrains of “The Star Spangled Banner”, in my new dress uniform with a real rank emblazoned on it. 

 In the near future, this fervor will be directed towards the State Libertarian Party “mini-conferences” which are coming to Brownsville on October 7. The gathering will be held at Antonio’s Mexican Village, 840 Paredes Line Road in Brownsville one of the bastions of political activity for some years. The State Chair The Libertarian Party of Texas Pat Dixon and Executive Director Wes Benedict are making several trips around the state to visit with supporters and help grow support for the party  These events are being called “mini-conferences” and are geared towards recruiting candidates, helping set up county organizations, training activists to conduct outreach, and provide and opportunity for Libertarians to meet the leadership.  The general public is welcome to attend. I would like to extend a personal invitation for those who would like to work for more real freedom and help reinvigorate the political system that to many of us seems in decay. I believe that most of you are Libertarians that just haven’t acknowledged it yet. Come see what we are about!