8,000 New Citizens Boost Yearly Total to Record 110,000
About 8,000 immigrants became U.S. citizens in Los Angeles on Friday, pushing the yearly total for the seven-county area to a record-breaking 110,000 people, an immigration spokesman said.
“This was the second year in a row that we had topped our record,” said Rico Cabrera of the Immigration and Naturalization Service.
“In ‘93, we [(swore in] only 45,000 citizens. In ‘94, we went up to 90,000. So we doubled that. So this year we did 110,000, and we’re projecting for next year 250,000,” he said.
As is usually the case, two ceremonies of about 4,000 naturalized citizens each were held. U.S. District Judge Ronald S. Lew, whose father came to America in 1951 with $1 in his pocket, administered the oath.
Lew told the new citizens that despite its myriad problems, he is convinced that America is still the best country in the world.
Mexico was the birthplace of most of the new Americans, followed in order by Vietnam, El Salvador, the Philippines and Iran, Cabrera said. The INS district has jurisdiction over Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
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