A long walk to citizenship: Francisco Navarro-Robles
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The Times’ Dana Parsons follows the life of Francisco Navarro-Robles in this column, from the moment that he crossed the border illegally from Mexico into the United States to the day of his swearing-in ceremony for citizenship.
‘I ask about swearing-in day. ‘Big-time nervous,’ he says. ‘I got my clothes ready the night before so in the morning I could take a shower and go. I wore a tie, the first time in many years. I wanted to look good, because it was one of the most important days of my life. I wanted to look sharp. We hit the road at 9 in the morning, because I wanted to take my time.’ ‘The ceremony was at noon, but at 11 a.m. he and his two friends were stuck in a freeway jam. ‘I started getting nervous at 11,’ he says. ‘I said this is not good. Another 20 minutes go by, it’s 11:20, I looked at my girlfriend and said, ‘I don’t care if I have to walk, I’m going to make it,’ so I jumped out of the car.’ ‘
-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City