Sixteen are sworn in as U.S. citizens

The United States' 16 newest citizens are a diverse bunch, hailing from 12 countries and three continents.

Their ranks include a steelworker, a nurse, a teens minister and a cosmetologist.

Some came for love. Some came for education. Some came to fulfill their parents' dreams.

"It's a great day for the United States of America, because it's about to become 16 citizens richer," assistant Federal prosecutor Larry Ferrell said Friday morning, just before federal Judge Stephen Limbaugh administered the oath of citizenship during a naturalization ceremony at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau. " ... They may come from diverse backgrounds, but they are united today in a common cause."

A small boy applauded enthusiastically as Congressman Jason Smith congratulated the group.

"It says something about our country that people are willing to leave their birth homes and sometimes their families and friends to become American citizens," Smith said.

U.S. Rep. Jason Smith and U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. lead the Pledge of Allegiance during a naturalization ceremony Friday, May 2, 2014 at the Rush H. Limbaugh Sr. U.S. Courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

He quoted the national motto, e pluribus unum -- "from many, one" -- as he addressed the new citizens and their families.

"Today we add more to the many, but as Americans we unite to become one," Smith said.

That spirit of camaraderie was evident after the ceremony as the newly minted citizens, clutching small American flags, offered to take cellphone photographs of each other with friends, family and public officials.

Anthony Yen Soo Hon, a construction worker and teens pastor at Bread of Life church in Jackson, came to the United States from Trinidad and Tobago to get married in 2002.

"I never thought it would come to this moment, because the journey is hard, and it's long," Hon said during the ceremony.

Hon later elaborated on the challenges.

The toughest part was the paperwork, he said, but the federal officials who handled his case were polite and helpful.

"The paperwork -- it's very tedious," Hon said. "It's hard, but with people wanting to come to this country for the wrong reasons, they have to (require it)."

Maria De La Luz Gonzalez of Mexico speaks during a naturalization ceremony Friday, May 2, 2014 at the Rush H. Limbaugh Sr. U.S. Courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

The effort paid off in greater freedom: Hon said one of his favorite aspects of the United States is the ability to move around freely.

"There's just so many places you can go and so many things you can do," he said. "It's just that freedom."

Diana Mariela Hernandez Galindo of Honduras speaks during a naturalization ceremony Friday, May 2, 2014 at the Rush H. Limbaugh Sr. U.S. Courthouse in Cape Girardeau.

To become citizens, applicants must be legal permanent residents of the United States; spend at least 30 months of the past five years here; demonstrate high moral character; be willing to support and defend the United States and the Constitution; read, write, speak and understand English; and demonstrate a knowledge of U.S. history and government, Ferrell said.

That last bit made Diane Mariela Hernandez Galindo a little nervous.

Galindo, who was just 10 when her family moved from Honduras to the United States in 1993, learned about the Constitution and American history in high school, but she said she was still a little anxious as she prepared for the citizenship test.

"Studying for the questions again -- just refreshing your memory -- I was kind of nervous a little bit, but I didn't do that bad," said Galindo, who works for the Department of Mental Health in Sikeston, Missouri.

Like Galindo, Maria De La Luz Gonzalez came to the United States with her family, who brought her here from Mexico when she was 15.

"It was very, very difficult, because I was a junior in high school," she said. "I didn't speak English at that time, so it was very hard. ... I didn't even know how to say, 'How are you?' when I was 15."

It took her a year or two to become conversational, she said.

"I'm still learning," said Gonzalez, a licensed cosmetologist who now lives in Senath, Missouri, with her 2-year-old son.

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