A patriotic ceremony was held aboard one of San Diego's most historic ships to celebrate the new citizenship of dozens of military members just a day ahead of Independence Day.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) welcomed 50 people from 20 different countries as new U.S. citizens in a naturalization ceremony aboard USS Midway.
"It's an honor to really be a part of something so great and it's very welcoming to know that right before July Fourth, Independence Day, I'm becoming a citizen of the United States," said Cris-Anne Stewart Palmer, who is a U.S. Navy servicemember from Jamaica.
USCIS said over the last three weeks, there have been 14,000 people sworn in as citizens at nearly 185 naturalization ceremonies.
