© 2024 Western New York Public Broadcasting Association

140 Lower Terrace
Buffalo, NY 14202

Mailing Address:
Horizons Plaza P.O. Box 1263
Buffalo, NY 14240-1263

Buffalo Toronto Public Media | Phone 716-845-7000
WBFO Newsroom | Phone: 716-845-7040
Your NPR Station
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Theodore Roosevelt site in Buffalo welcomes newest U.S. citizens

Michael Mroziak, WBFO

More than two dozen people from 18 nations became "fellow Americans" in a Tuesday morning ceremony in Buffalo. They include people from troubled parts of the world and one individual whose name may be familiar to local pro hockey fans.

In all, 26 people took the Oath of Citizenship inside the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site. The ceremony was held to coincide with President's Day.

Officials at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site say it's appropriate to play host to the event each year.

"Roosevelt was really focused on citizenship, what it meant not only in terms of responsibilities and duties, it was really important to him," said the site's executive director Stanton Hudson. 

Four of the nations represented are among the seven targeted by the Trump Administration for travel bans and restrictions. A revised version of his executive order was expected in short time. 

New U.S. citizen Sirmad Saad Jehad, formerly of Iraq, said he understood the desire to keep the United States safe but there are many in his birthplace that, like him, seek a safer place to live.

"Those people need help. They lose houses, they lose family," he said. "They don't have treating medical health (correctly) there. A lot of children, women, a lot of people there, they need help." 

One of those who became a new U.S. citizen is a familiar name and face to Buffalo Sabres fans. Martin Biron, a former goaltender and now a broadcast commentator, explained that although he has lived in Western New York for many years with his wife and four children, he has been unable to fully participate in the community.

Credit Michael Mroziak, WBFO
Sirmad Saad Jehad, a native of Iraq, holds up the certificate confirming his new status as a United States citizen.

He couldn't vote. Not in the most recent election nor in presidential elections before.

"I don't have a vote anywhere," he said. "I can't vote in Canada because I'm not a resident and I couldn't vote in the U.S. because I'm not a citizen. I never had a chance to vote in any election. For me, that right was important, to be able to do the process."

He told reporters that his children had many questions about the last presidential election, including why he couldn't vote. 

Biron admitted that his path to citizenship was smooth, being a former professional athlete, compared to the paths of many who joined him in the room.

"For other people, their decisions, their choices are much more limited," he said. "This could be a great escape for them, to find justice and to find freedom."

The citizenship process is a lengthy one, officials explained, during which candidates undergo educational tasks to get ready for the day on which they take their oath.

"To become a citizen, these people probably know more than most of us do about the U.S. Constitution, about American history," Hudson said. "They've had to work on very significant kinds of things in order to prepare and be approved to get their citizenship."

Michael Mroziak is an experienced, award-winning reporter whose career includes work in broadcast and print media. When he joined the WBFO news staff in April 2015, it was a return to both the radio station and to Horizons Plaza.
Related Content