Gov. Gregoire recognizes Washington�s newest citizens during naturalization ceremony

July 4, 2008

*As Written*

Good afternoon, and thank you Mayor (Nichols) for the kind introduction. It�s great to be here.

What a wonderful, joyful occasion this is!

And what a great way to celebrate the Fourth of July!

What�d you think? Don�t you agree?

You�re newly minted Americans! And on the very day Americans celebrate their independence and the right to build new lives for their children!

I ask you. Does it get any better than that?

So you and I are fellow Americans now. That�s really something!

And one thing each of you can claim is this:

You had to earn the right to be an American.

Most of us were born with the privilege. But you had to emigrate from your homelands � sometimes under incredible hardship.

And then you had overcome a huge number of challenges to get to this special day � from piles of forms and paperwork -- to interviews and tests you had to pass...

�Immigrants like Greg Pearce � who emigrated from Australia, and who is among the 545 brand new Americans here today.

(By the way Greg. I hear you and your wife, Joyce, are celebrating your 16th wedding anniversary! And on the Fourth of July. Happy Anniversary!)

Greg tells us that his journey to this day was a long, hard road of paperwork, expense, diligence, and patience�


�And despite all that, he knows he had a real advantage � he spoke English and understood the culture more than an awful lot of immigrants...

�Immigrants from 78 different countries -- Literally countries from A to Z � from Australia to Zimbabwe � from Canada to Eastern Europe � and from Africa to Asia.

I am especially touched to hear that seven of you are serving in our military � two in the Navy and five in the Army -- and two of you have done two tours in Iraq each! That�s what I call the extra mile.

Thank you for your sacrifice!

By the way, we have a little girl from India here among you today, and she�s celebrating her 4th Birthday!

Where is she?

Happy Birthday!

Before I close I�d like to tell you that more than most states, Washington is very much a state of immigrants.

Immigrants have always played a very direct and important role in our state�s development. They were and are the hardworking backbone of our prosperity and progress.

They logged the forests, farmed the land, fished the waters, dug the mines, and built the railroads. Now they drive our cabs and run our restaurants, or work for Boeing and Microsoft.

You are the newest wave of immigrants and our newest citizens.

We are counting on you to make your mark here because Washington needs you as much as they did immigrants of 100 years ago. We need your active citizenship and your fresh perspectives on our toughest problems.

From you will come new solutions, new art forms, new ideas. Washington needs your values and wisdom.

You have powerful traditions of strong families, and strength in the face of hardship. Those qualities are are the stuff of a great country � our country.

On behalf of the people of Washington State, I congratulate you on becoming citizens of the United States of America.

I urge you to use the power now vested in you to help write the next chapter of our history of freedom, equality, hope and opportunity for all.

We are very proud of you.

God bless you, our newest Americans, and God bless America.