Bandelier Supt. Suddath, right, presents a certificate of naturalization. Photo Courtesy NPS

BANDELIER NEWS RELEASE

Bandelier National Monument, in partnership with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, hosted a naturalization ceremony in honor of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. Nine candidates from Mexico, Guatemala, and the Philippines became new American citizens. 

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services official Jazmin Yu administered the Oath of Allegiance, and Bandelier Superintendent Patrick Suddath gave remarks and passed out certificates. 

The nation observes Constitution Day and Citizenship Day on September 17, which is part of Constitution Week (September 17 to 23). The commemoration honors the signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787, and the first Citizenship Day signed into law by Present 

Harry S. Truman in 1952. President Dwight D. Eisenhower proclaimed the first Constitution Week in 1955. 

The National Park Service and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services have a formal partnership to enhance citizenship ceremonies by holding them in national parks throughout the country. The agreement helps introduce new citizens to some of the nation’s most significant natural resources and cultural heritage sites. These historic and picturesque sites provide an ideal backdrop for citizenship ceremonies, where new citizens can learn about and reflect on American identity and the responsibilities of citizenship. 

For more information about Bandelier National Monument visit http://www.nps.gov/band. Follow us on  Facebook and Instagram. 

Bandelier National Monument protects, preserves, and interprets an outstanding portion of the Pajarito Plateau, including one of the largest concentrations of Ancestral Pueblo archaeological sites in the  American Southwest. The park provides opportunities for people to connect with and enjoy a diversity  of cultural and natural resources, striking scenery, wildlife habitats, remnants of a volcanic landscape, and wilderness.