Welch celebrates new citizens
Senator Peter Welch highlighted Vermont’s newest U.S. citizens at a recent naturalization ceremony, framing immigrants’ belief in opportunity as central to integration. The post underscores local public recognition events as part of community‑level inclusion work. (x.com)
Peter Welch showed up in Barre this week to greet Vermont residents at the moment they stopped being immigrants in paperwork and became United States citizens in law. The ceremony was held in Barre, and United States District Judge Mary Kay Lanthier presided. (welch.senate.gov) Welch used the event to make a specific political argument: people who choose the United States are betting on “opportunity and freedom,” and that choice is part of what binds a community together. He tied that message to Vermont leaders, families, and loved ones gathered in the room. (welch.senate.gov) A naturalization ceremony is the last step in the citizenship process, not a photo opportunity added at the end. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services says the ceremony is where applicants take the Oath of Allegiance and complete the process of becoming citizens. (uscis.gov) For most applicants, getting to that room takes years before it takes minutes. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services says the most common path is first becoming a lawful permanent resident and then holding that status for at least five years before applying for naturalization. (uscis.gov) The ceremony also flips on a new set of practical rights the same day the oath is taken. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services tells new citizens they can use a Certificate of Naturalization as proof of citizenship and become eligible to apply for a United States passport. (uscis.gov) That is why local ceremonies carry more weight than a routine government appointment. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services says the agency treats them as “positive and memorable moments” that recognize both the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. (uscis.gov) Vermont has used these ceremonies as public civic events before, not private paperwork sessions behind a counter. In May 2025, a ceremony in Chittenden welcomed 20 new citizens from 11 different countries, showing how a small state can turn a federal legal step into a community ritual. (vtdigger.org) So Welch’s appearance in Barre was small in scale and very deliberate in message. A senator, a federal judge, Vermont families, and new citizens all stood in one room to mark the same fact: citizenship is granted by federal law, but belonging is often built face to face in places like Barre. (welch.senate.gov)
