By Sheena Williams
Killeen Daily Herald

BELTON – With eyes filled with tears, Claudia Nunez mouthed the words to "God Bless America" as the song filled the auditorium of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor's Mayborn Campus Center on Tuesday. For years, she had been waiting for this day to come. As she sat with 296 other immigrants receiving their citizenship, she couldn't help but be somewhat overwhelmed by the reality of it all.

Twenty-two years ago, Nunez traveled from her native land of Colombia and landed, weary and homesick, at an American base in Panama. She was 16 years old at the time. No one at her new school spoke the same language as she did, and everything seemed strange to her.

Her first meal on American soil was at Long John Silver's, which she thought was an odd place to eat fish.

"We went to the drive-through, and when I saw fish in these little plastic containers, I thought it was the weirdest thing," Nunez said with a laugh. "In Colombia, the only place we saw fish was if we caught them from a river or got them fresh from the marketplace. And cereal was another thing. I couldn't get over being able to eat something sweet for breakfast."

Nunez soon got a job at the base's video store and caught the eye of a soldier who seemed to have a lot of questions about the video return policy. She eventually married the soldier, and she and Randy traveled to the United States and sought citizenship for her.

The couple had little time to initiate the process because of Randy's various deployments to Korea and Iraq, but after the Sept. 11 attacks, Claudia knew she had to officially make America her home.

"When I saw the towers fall, I was not a citizen, but I felt that this was my country and it was my country that was being attacked," Claudia said. "I felt as if they were attacking me as well."

So she began the process of applying for citizenship. Through the time-consuming paperwork, various interviews, oral examinations, written tests, fingerprints, background checks and spending hundreds of dollars, Claudia wanted to make sure, above all, that her husband was there. He came back from Iraq in January.

"It's a long time coming, and it was well-deserved," Randy said. "In my eyes, she has always belonged here. She's one of the most patriotic people I know, and she has sacrificed plenty for this country."

Claudia's story was one of hundreds as the group of new American citizens represented more than 60 countries, including Austria, Ecuador, Nigeria and Jamaica.

Mario Ortiz, director of the San Antonio district of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, said that both an influx in immigrants seeking citizenship and the district's desire to accommodate them, prompted the department to find a larger, more local area to host the ceremony.

"Last fiscal year, we received 1.4 million citizenship applications across the country. So the good news for us is that means new citizens, but it also means that the normal places we've been going to will have to change so that we can keep up with the numbers," Ortiz said. "Typically, all of these people would have to drive to San Antonio to be naturalized. Instead of having all of them travel all that way, we decided to keep them here so it'll be easier for their families, friends and co-workers to attend."

U.S. Rep. John Carter shared words of hope with the new citizens and told them the story about his wife's journey as a naturalized immigrant.

"We all came to this country for liberty and freedom and that is the treasure we give to you now as a part of the American dream that will never die off of the face of this earth," Carter said. "It is a dream worthy of the human beings that support it and by your pledge today, you support that dream of freedom and liberty for every human being, not only in the United States but for the whole earth.

Contact Sheena Williams at sheenaw@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7553.

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