ST. CROIX — Nineteen people from across the Caribbean and beyond took the oath of citizenship Thursday during a Transfer Day naturalization ceremony in District Court, marking the culmination of their journeys to become United States citizens.
The Transfer Day naturalization ceremony was held during the same month that marks the anniversary of the March 31, 1917 transfer of the territory from Denmark to the United States in exchange for $25 million in gold. March 31 is a local holiday known as Transfer Day.
The new U.S. citizens hailed from Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the Philippines, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, and the Dominican Republic.
The ceremony, presided over by Magistrate Judge Emile Henderson III, included elementary and high school students who attended to witness the proceedings as part of their civics education. Henderson said the presence of students added an important educational component to the ceremony — something local educator Ericka Hansen said she intentionally arranged.
“Once we got invited from the court, I organized the whole process and made sure that they were able to be here to witness one of these ceremonies, because I think it’s important for them to understand what people go through to become a citizen of the United States,” Hansen, who teaches Virgin Islands History at St. Croix Central High School, said.
After seeing the process, Hansen said the field trip will extend into a classroom exercise, providing the students an opportunity to provide feedback about the ceremony.
“We’ll be able to come to class and discuss the whole process of naturalization, and hopefully they get a lot out of it,” she said.
The CHS students observed the naturalization ceremony virtually from the jury assembly room in the courthouse along with students from St. Croix Educational Complex and Free Will Baptist Christian School. Students from Alfredo Andrews Elementary School got to sit in the jury box and witness the ceremony from the courtroom. Students from Ricardo Richards Elementary School watched virtually from their classroom.
An official with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services engaged the students in a question-and-answer segment while participating virtually from St. Thomas. Henderson greeted the students and explained the naturalization process to them before conducting the ceremony.
Henderson administered the oath of naturalization, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. He also described a symbolic exchange of flags involving the naturalized citizens and two students. As the new U.S. citizens received their certificates and shook hands with the judge and officials from the District Court and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, they handed over the flag of their birth country to Zion Bennerson, a fifth grader at Alfredo Andrews Elementary School. They received a U.S. flag from Je’ Talia Hanley, also a fifth grader at Alfredo Andrews, to mark their welcome into their new country.
“That is to signify the transfer of your loyalties and the transfer of your sovereignties from your old home to your new home,” Henderson said.
Guest speaker Dennis “Pumpa” Liburd, an international soca artist and naturalized U.S. citizen originally from St. Kitts, reflected on his own journey. Liburd migrated to St. Croix in 1995 at age 9 and has since become a prominent cultural figure in the territory. Earlier this year, he was recognized by the Legislature of the Virgin Islands for his contributions with the key to the territory and a roadway named in his honor in the Peter’s Rest area.
“I came into the system this way too, you know, at a very, very young age,” Liburd said. “So, to be here today is definitely a great feeling.”
Liburd emphasized his deep connection to the Virgin Islands.
“I am VI everything,” he said. “I was born in St. Kitts, yes, but I’m from the Virgin Islands.”
He said his goal is to always give back everything to the Virgin Islanders. He described both the territory and the United States as cultural “melting pots,” encouraging the new citizens to embrace unity while celebrating diversity.
“When we come from different spaces, I think one of the most beautiful things is for us to bring a little bit of our seasoning that we have from these different places, and bring it as a kallaloo pot, and then we all help each other, love each other, move on and try to get things happen amongst each other,” Liburd said.
Liburd said division or separation is one thing that could bring everybody down.
“But when we come together as one, we can make anything possible,” he said.
Henderson echoed that sentiment, noting that immigrants strengthen the nation.
“When they come to this country, that is what makes this country better, because we get to incorporate people from different places and different fabrics into one fabric,” he said.
He urged the new citizens to take an active role in civic life, particularly by voting.
“Go down to Sunny Isle and go register to vote,” he said. “It is important for you to let your voice be heard through the voting box.”
He also reminded them of their civic responsibilities, including jury service, and encouraged them to be law-abiding members of the community.
“It’s important that you contribute positively to this community in any ways that you can, but also that you abide by the law,” he said.
At the same time, Henderson stressed the importance of maintaining one’s cultural identity.
“Do not strip yourself of your full identity of who you are,” he said. “You are a United States citizen, yes, but you were born someplace else, and you had a culture from someplace else, with a language from someplace else.”
Henderson told the new citizens that they cannot divorce themselves from their birth country because then they would not be who they are.
“Part of what makes this country great is we have people from all over the world who come here and they share their language, they share their culture, they share their stories, and most importantly to me, they share their food, and it becomes a part of who we are as a country. That makes us better. We see differences, and those differences unite us and make us stronger.”
Still, he underscored the significance of allegiance to the United States. He told the new citizens if there is a conflict between the United States and their birth country, they must choose the United States.
“I don’t care where you’re born,” he said. “If the United States is in conflict with anybody, you are now a United States citizen, and your duty is to defend and protect the United States of America.”
He concluded by thanking the new citizens for completing the process lawfully and committing themselves to the nation.
“I want to thank each and every single one of you for taking the time to do what needed to be done, and to do it in the right way, the legal way, and to come forth today and pledge your allegiance to this country, to defend her against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and ensure that we will be a nation that will continue for centuries more with the understanding that there is freedom for all of us and that we welcome all who come to our shores,” Henderson said.
