Citizen Luis - Transcript

[Luis Peon-Casanova:] "For quite some time now I have very seriously been contemplating becoming a United States citizen. I have thought about it many times before and as a matter of fact it keeps me up at night." Last year in Nebraska and Iowa 3,500 emigrants became American citizens. One way or another they all have to make that decision.

"There is an element of vitality that we emigrants bring to this country. And perhaps that's -- as easy as it might seem and trite as it might seem -- that's the key element to preserve diversity and preserve this country moving towards a richer future. "I think that we emigrants in general bring a renewed attitude towards work, towards dreams, towards aspirations. I think we emigrants have a lot of offer."

[Bosco:] "If you choose to become American, that means you're going to defend America before you defend any other country."

[Milagros:] "My country, the only thing I have is my sisters. There's only two sisters that I have. And here I have my... all my other family, they're here. I mean, this is my home."

[Olga:] "I came here because I got married."

[Pavel:] "We lost our citizenship in Russia."

[Sief:] "I'm not seeking a better job in America. I'm not taking a better living in America, but just trying to see if it is really a better place."

[Luis Peon-Casanova:] "I am originally from Mexico City, the largest city in the world. I came to this country in 1982 to continue my education. I went to the University of Texas in Austin where I obtained a bachelor’s in science and filmmaking. And story-telling is at the heart of everything that I do.

"The law says that I can remain in this country indefinitely as a resident. But as I build a life in this country I feel the need to decide.

"I don't know if I want to become a citizen. This has been a question that comes up in conversation many times when people that know me for years give me... First they give me a possibly indignant look as into why I'm not an American citizen, and why I kind of hang on to my being Mexican.

"The problem of becoming a citizen stems out of a belief... a notion that my countrymen, my family are going to look down upon me."

[Bosco:] "It's a little difficult because you think about leaving your own citizenship and take a different citizenship. But that decision, I have been thinking about it, and I think it's going to be good decision for me."

[Olga:] "I don't know. I have this philosophy that I am not only a person... Russian person, I am like a person of all planet."

[Luis Peon-Casanova:] "I love the institutions. I love the opportunity that this country has given me, and in the eyes of many that should be enough for me to consider being a citizen. But, it's not becoming a citizen, an American citizen, what the problem is, it's to stop being a Mexican."

[Jerry Heinauer:] "The number one reason that somebody should become a citizen is because they want to. Because they want to say, 'I want to be a citizen of the United States,' as opposed to whatever country that they came from."

[Mary Bartels:] "Becoming a citizen is more than just taking the test. Becoming a citizen is something that you will be for the rest of your life."

[Bosco:] "I believe in what I'm doing. That's not something I'm doing because someone forced me to do it or some situation forced me to do it. It's because the decision I chose to do because I love living in this country."

[Sief:] "If I am going to get the American citizenship, or I decided to take it, it will be very honest for me to go through all the procedures. To give the oath. And to respect the law."

[Jerry Heinauer:] "When anybody takes an oath to become a new citizen it is very significant. And I would not imagine that it's very easy to give up your nationality."

[Mary Bartels:] " 'I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, so help me God.' Any questions about that.

"I know that my own grandparents made that decision. They came from another country and they came here because they were not able to have a good life in their home country. And here they were able to make a good life for themselves, and for their children and for their grandchildren. And I'm grateful that they made that decision."

[Luis Peon-Casanova:] "I hereby declare on oath that I will support and defend the constitution and the laws of the United States of America. That I will bear arms on the behalf of the United States and take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. So help me God.

"The oath of allegiance seems to be pretty exclusive. Seems to dictate how your heart should feel as well as how your head should think. And it's very, very, very explicit. You should renounce your country of origin, and you should pledge allegiance to your new country. That is a very succinct statement, but never the less, very, very serious.

[Judge Richard Kopf:] "It's kind of like a marriage. And one doesn't take marriage lightly, and certainly one shouldn't take this act lightly. The oath of allegiance that we administer is exclusive. In exchange for the benefits of becoming a citizen one pledges himself or herself to doing everything he or she can to benefit the country in return."

[Mary Bartels:] "There may come a time though, when you have to say, I am one or the other. I'm a Mexican citizen, or I'm a citizen of the United States. There may come a time when you have to say, my primary loyalty is here, or it's there. And I guess before you become a citizen you have to be willing to say, 'If ever it gets to a point where there is a conflict between the two countries, I am willing to say my loyalty is here.' "

[Luis Peon-Casanova:] "I don't think that I like to engage in any combat situations, however that could change. That could change, and the only reason why that could change is because my son is American. And if someone threatens his land, it's attempted against me. It's attempted against my principles and my values. I am somewhere in between my old self and my new self, and by virtue of having family that was born in this country really tips me over to think that I do have a lot more to protect in this country than anywhere else in the world."