City residents and city employees who are naturalized citizens, were recognized by City Council at its September 23 meeting.
"We are very pleased to recognize these individuals who have chosen to become citizens of our country,” said Mayor William D. Euille.
Constitution Week was Sept. 15—19, and Citizenship Day was Sept. 17. Alexandria proclaimed Sept. 23 as Citizenship Day in the city.
“We have a number of city employees who have become citizens since they began working here,” said Joann Roosa, who coordinates the city’s multicultural programs. “We thought that this would be a nice way to recognize their contributions and to encourage other people who are interested in doing so to become citizens.”
Julio Basurto works for the Department of Human Services as a case worker. He is from Lima, Peru, and became a citizen in August of 1999.
“I became a citizen because it was just the natural thing to do after living in this country for so long,” he said. “I have three children. Two of them were born in Peru, but the third was born here and is a citizen. My wife also became a citizen. As a citizen, you have many more rights, such as the right to vote.”
Basurto did not find the citizenship exam very hard. “I am a paralegal so I knew quite a bit about the government of the United States,” he said. “There are a hundred questions and they select 10 of those for you to answer both orally and in writing. I didn’t find it that difficult.”
Basurto’s job with the city brings him into contact with many people. “I serve as a liaison between the social workers and clients and get to spend some time in the office and some time in the field. That suits my personality very well,” he said.
Miladys Martines works for the Alexandria Human Rights Commission. She became a citizen in June, 2002. She is originally from El Salvador.
“I became a citizen because I wanted to vote for City Council [members] and the mayor and other officials,” she said. “I voted in the May elections for the first time. It was very exciting.”
Martines is a secretary. “I really like my job and want to learn much more about politics so that I can participate in the government here,” she said.