American Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities Listed in a Brochure in 1955

One of the proud moments in my life was the day when I became a naturalized American citizen, following a long journey of four years which included tons of paperwork, interviews, expensive fees I could barely afford, and many trips to the Immigration office at a time when I was a mom, a wife, a daughter, and a student.

I was not lucky to be born in the United States, but I became a naturalized American as soon as the authorities allowed a legal immigrant from a communist country to become one. I was properly vetted, vaccinated, employed, checked for communicable diseases, studied America’s history, its founding documents, and underwent at least three hours of interrogation to make sure that I was not a communist. It was a bit strange, I admit, since I fled communism.

Things have changed since I became a citizen. Immigration laws are no longer respected or followed, politicians keep telling us that laws are “broken,” winking to each other, allowing any flotsam and jetsam of the third world to walk unimpeded across the southern border, and thousands and thousands are flown and dropped into small, conservative communities in the dead of night, carrying U.S. or U.N. debit cards, Medicaid insurance cards, and brand-new cell phones. American citizens are even asked to donate as much as they can for the settlement and care of unvetted and unvaccinated illegals dropped overnight into their midst to increase the voting rolls for the Democrat Party.

A naturalization brochure from 1955 came across my desk recently. Published in 1955 as document M-76 by the Department of Justice, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, it is titled “Welcome to the New Citizen on the occasion of Naturalization.”

Printed in blue are the words to The Star-Spangled Banner, written in 1814 by Francis Scott Key, a Baltimore lawyer, during the bombardment of Fort McHenry and adopted by Congress as the National Anthem in 1931.

Today, the woke leftist America objects to our National Anthem as an outdated, bellicose statement. They are trying to change it to reflect their values, just as they are changing everything else remotely connected to our history that offends them. The easily triggered left is running the country into the ground and destroying our history, replacing it with their manufactured version of past events and persons.

The 1955 brochure also contains a brief congratulatory letter from President Dwight D. Eisenhower who welcomed the new citizens “to a new way of life with rights and privileges, blessings which include a solemn responsibility – the duty to help maintain and advance the principles and ideals upon which our Republic was founded and built.”

Today the meaning of our Constitutional Republic has been lost in the leftist narrative swamp of their brand of democracy, complaining about our “outdated” founding documents that must be replaced by their woke ideals of Marxism and collectivism.

The 1955 brochure contains the words to America’s Creed. William Tyler Page, the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives, wrote America’s Creed in 1917 which was accepted by the House on behalf of the American People on April 3, 1918.

“I believe in the United States of America as a Government of the People, by the People, for the People, whose just powers are derived from the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign nation of many sovereign states; a perfect union, one and inseparable, established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. I therefore believe it my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.”

William Tyler Page would be saddened by the state of politics today as American citizens are being governed by a political class so powerful that their powers are no longer derived from the governed. He would be disappointed to see what is happening to our country’s sovereignty on the southern border which is overrun by millions of illegals from around the world, breaking our laws and signing up for welfare and the voting rolls.

None of our founding documents mention the latest leftist buzzword, “equity,” equality of outcomes, the latest demands from the American Marxist contingent.

The founding documents of our country are written in cursive handwriting which is no longer taught in schools. American students cannot read their country’s original founding documents anymore. The decision to stop teaching cursive handwriting came from educators in America and around the world, even though research has proven that cursive handwriting develops certain parts of the brain, enabling memory and further learning. Frontiers | The Importance of Cursive Handwriting Over Typewriting for Learning in the Classroom: A High-Density EEG Study of 12-Year-Old Children and Young Adults | Psychology (frontiersin.org)

J. M Swing, Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, wrote in the 1955 brochure about the Meaning of American Citizenship:

“Today you have become a citizen of the United States of America. You are no longer an Englishman, a Frenchman, an Italian, a Pole. Neither are you a hyphenated-American – a Polish-American, an Italian-American. You are no longer a subject of the government. Henceforth, you are an integral part of this Government – a freeman – a Citizen of the United States of America.”

J. M. Swing might also be disappointed to see that in 2022, American citizens who were lucky to have been born on American soil, have become strongly hyphenated, polarized, and divided by skin color and ethnicity, and have become subjects of their powerful governments.

Frances Cavanah and Lloyd E. Smith outlined the rights and privileges of an American citizen in the same 1955 immigration brochure:

1.      Think freely as a unique person. Today unfortunately “groupthink” is highly encouraged in the main stream media. In the vein of collectivism, uniqueness is seen as selfish and undemocratic.

2.      I may speak or write as I please if it does not interfere with the rights of others. Today you may speak and write if the left allows you a venue in the mass media, and the technocracy elites allow you to be seen or heard on social media platforms.

3.      Exercise the right to vote. You vote but, as soon as you leave the voting booth, your vote may be nullified by a person voting illegally.

4.      I have the right to choose my work. You may choose your work today if your views and resume are acceptable to those doing the hiring.

5.      I have the right to improve myself through hard work and education. Higher education today has become a joke as universities are now bastions of leftist Marxist groupthink. No diverse thinkers need apply and no divergent opinions are allowed.

6.      I have the right to a prompt trial by jury if I should be accused of a crime. I wonder if those labeled “insurrectionists” have had their days in court yet.

7.      I have equal rights with others when seeking justice in the courts. Do we really have equal rights today in the courts?

8.      I can share in the benefits of many natural resources of my country.

9.      I can educate my children in free schools. They are tuition-free for those who do not pay property taxes which fund public schools. Schools and universities are controlled by a leftist cabal of teachers, administrators, and professors indoctrinated in America’s colleges of education and now even colleges of arts and sciences.

10.  I have the right to worship in the religion of my choice. Have you really been free to worship in church in the last two years during the forced lockdowns? How many churches and priests were fined and arrested for holding church services?

11.  I have the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” We can hope and pray for this right, but we have had a lot of unhappy, broke, and bankrupt Americans in the last two years, unable to pursue their dreams due to government lockdowns and unconstitutional mandates. We have experienced at the hands of our federal, state, and local governments, home detention, forced masking, vaccine mandates, election fraud, food and necessities shortages, supply chain disruptions, school closures for extended periods of time, censorship, and forced small businesses and church closures.

The duties of an American citizen were outlined in the 1955 brochure as follows:

1.      Obey the country’s laws. Currently, the socialist Democrats only obey the laws they like and approve of. The rest of us obey the laws.

2.      It is our duty to vote so that our government may truly represent the will of the people. Unfortunately, the leftist wing that runs big cities allows illegal citizens of other countries to vote thus diluting and destroying the votes and the will of the rest of the American voters.

3.      Keep informed on the honesty and ability of candidates for public office. It makes no difference that we know how dishonest some candidates and politicians are, they suffer no consequences, and they are well-funded by donations from the leftist elites who run the country.

4.      Correct injustice through voting. Seldom injustices are corrected through voting anymore since the advent of the electronic voting system which is easy to manipulate and hack.

5.      Pay taxes. The middle class is heavily taxed and so are individuals in the upper class. The rest have little skin in the taxation game.

6.      Serve on juries when called upon.

7.      Hold a public office for the efficient functioning of government. Is our government truly functioning efficiently when you look at the trillions of dollars in debt that has been accumulated in the last five years?

8.      Defend our country if necessary.

9.      Unite in times of crisis and support our government.

10.  Respect our national flag. How many Americans have desecrated our flag, burned it, stepped on it, and destroyed it? How many Americans were forbidden to fly the American flag and were fined by homeowners’ associations (HOAs) and municipalities under the excuse that it offended others?

The goals listed in the citizenship brochure from 67 years ago are majestic and admirable. We should all strive to be better citizens, whether natural born or naturalized.

Those of us, who were not lucky to be born in this country but were lucky enough to be able to immigrate here legally, support this country and its opportunity to succeed guaranteed to everyone. We do not support the woke equality of outcomes. The collectivist idea of “equity” has never worked, and it is never going to work except by coercion and oppression.

To me, my naturalized citizenship carries with it the highest privilege and the highest responsibility to conduct the oath taken on the day when I became a proud American. Freedom is never free, and we must cherish it and protect it from all enemies, foreign and domestic.

 

The New Pathway to Citizenship

Forgiving the breaking of the law is the new pathway to citizenship. Assimilation is no longer the goal of immigration. Immigration used to be assimilation into the American culture, becoming an American citizen. But the left has devised a new requirement for bringing the “frightened people” who broke the law “out of the shadows.” Never mind that they live among us in plain sight, free to come and go as they please, taking advantage of our country and of our hospitality.

The new pathway to citizenship is forcing Americans to accept law breakers as equals, as citizens with the same rights and benefits but not the same responsibilities we have as American citizens. 

Busing children through Central America or flying them over Mexico and dumping them in Arizona, Texas, and all over the country sick and diseased, is the new forced immigration aimed at changing demographics in the United States.

It is not that we don’t want people to succeed, to have the opportunity of freedom; we are after all a nation of legal immigrants who chased their American dream. We want them to come here legally, to respect our laws and culture, not try to change them according to the troglodyte laws in the home countries they’ve fled, pretending that they are offended by our culture, our national anthem, our flag, displaying their national flags, flaunting their allegiance to someone else, even suing to prevent us to display or wear symbols of our national pride.

Multiculturalism has been a failure in Europe and many leaders have admitted it. It failed because it allowed ethnic ghettos to thrive within a country, self-governed ghettos where violence and uncivilized customs rule.

Multiculturalism is acceptable to the extent that all immigrants assimilate into the American culture and practice their customs at home.

Illegals must pay taxes, not accept cash pay under the table. They must self-support, not demand welfare and rob from the hard-working Americans. Illegals are not entitled to the fruits of American taxpayers’ labor. You are a foreign national, do not demand the same rights as an American; you may not and should not vote.

You are not Dreamers; you are robbing from the American citizens’ children who are carrying on the American Dream. You have to earn the American Dream the legal way. Stop accepting silver platter bribery awards just because you broke our laws setting foot in this country.

Frank P., a prolific writer, explained that, if you look up the word “nation” in a law dictionary and correlate it with our Founders’ recipe for our “nation” in the second Federalist Paper, you will see that “nations” develop from a primal family; they are populated by kindred blood relatives descended from a common ancestor. Our Founders added, “Profess the same religion (the source of the nation’s Organic Law) and speak a common language.” These are our founding principles of unity.

Frank continued, “The 14^th Amendment after the Civil War allowed for ‘step-children’ to be adopted into this founding demographic. They are assimilated into someone else’s family and are expected to conduct themselves according to the rules of the house they occupy as guests. Just because we invite someone over for dinner does not entitle them to the deed of our house.”

Your anchor babies should not be American citizens with the same birthright.

You should learn to speak English.

You should go through a health screening/quarantine before you are allowed to immigrate to the United States because our national health is in the best interest of our American citizens.

Immigration laws were put in place to protect American citizens, not in your economic interest. It is not America’s fault that you hail from a country where you vote in office decades after decades the same corrupt socialist dictatorships that rob your country blind.

When we chose to immigrate to this country legally, we gave up our respective ethnic claims in order to become an American national family. You may not demand that our founding principles must be abolished in order to accommodate your foreign and alien customs and religious beliefs. Some of you are not coming here to become “Americans,” you told us you are coming here to take our country over for a foreign god.

How fair is it for illegals, who just crossed our southern border, to get Social Security numbers and benefits in one day while our veterans have to wait months for Social Security disability payments into which they’ve paid for years?

Why bend the rules and issue foreign national passports at the Social Security office while Americans must wait weeks to have their passports issued or renewed by the proper authorities?

The liberal mantra we keep hearing,” there is strength in diversity,” is a form of brainwashing.  “Our diversity turkey has come home to roost.” Diversity is a “divide and conquer” strategy developed to weaken and destroy a nation from within.  Europe is a prime example of this failed diversity.

Frank P. said that our country was founded for “Ourselves and our Posterity,” not for the minorities that we’ve adopted into it as a privilege through an act of hospitality and generosity. It is high time that the “Posterity,” as government’s “principal,” assert control over the birthright before it is gone completely.

 

Only in America, How Wise an Immigrant

As a legal immigrant, I came to America because it was “the shiny city on the hill” where everything was possible if you were willing to work hard because everyone had the freedom and equal opportunity to succeed.

I came to America because I wanted to pursue higher education, something that was very limited under communism as the children of the communist party elite had first choice at any college no matter how bad their grades were. I did not want to wait until I was 60 years old and had the approval of the communist party to pursue a doctoral degree.

I came to America because I wanted a better life for myself and my children. I did not want to toil day and night under the watchful eye of the totalitarian government who decided how much our labor was worth and how much we were allowed to eat, where to travel, or live.

We knew there was a better place to live, a place called capitalism, a place called America, where they had freedom of speech and assembly. I knew there was a better life under capitalism where everybody had the opportunity to create wealth if they “served their fellow man” with needed products and services. I also knew that equal results were not guaranteed, only equal opportunity.  

I did not want to live any longer under the failed socialist economy and the failed communist utopian ideology where wealth was stolen, property plundered, and the workers, “lovingly” called the proletariat, were enslaved with the false promise that the government will take care of them if they relinquished their most cherished possession – their freedom.

I wanted to own a home, no matter how small and I did not want it indebted to the government. I wanted proper medical care and medicine when needed for which I fully expected to pay. I did not feel entitled to anybody’s wealth that I had nothing to do with creating.

I wanted freedom to exercise my faith if I so chose and be able to own or read a Bible. I wanted my children to learn historical truth, not revisionist communist indoctrination. I also did not want to yield to other religions imposed by the government whether be the worship of Gaia, atheism, environmentalism, or Islam.

I did not want free housing, free medical care, free child care, free cell phones, free education, and I certainly did not want to be indebted for generations to the federal government for my family’s well-being. I did not want welfare and I expected to have as many children as I could afford to bring into this world, raise, support financially, and educate without the government’s interference. I certainly did not expect political correctness to stifle my freedom of speech.

I came to America to escape having to march in May 1 (May Day) forced parades paying homage to the grand communist party. Yet now our President has proclaimed May Day “Loyalty Day,” to “reaffirm our allegiance to the United States of America, our Constitution, and our founding values.” Do we really need a loyalty day? Are we not loyal to our country already?

I must admit that I am a bit confused. Since the rest of the world celebrates May Day as a communist day, does this mean that we are joining in with the commies, or is it just an accidental and unfortunate coincidence that we celebrate loyalty to the United States, fly our flag, and pledge allegiance to our Republic on the same day?  http://www.whitehouse.gove/briefing-room/presidential-actions/proclamations

Listening to the Voice of America, the only radio of freedom news that we could covertly listen to under the oppressive communist regime, we held in high esteem the 100 Senators from the magical and free land of milk and honey, the United States.  Unfortunately, living here as an American citizen, I must admit that I am shocked and puzzled by the bizarre behavior of some U.S. Senators and Representatives.

Take for instance Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) who spoke on May Day in Chicago to a rally of “nearly two thousand trade unionists, open communists, socialists, anarchists and illegal aliens.” He spoke of May Day as “Law Day.” I must admit, I have never heard of such celebration, “Law Day.”

Sen. Durbin, quoted by Rebel Pundit, said that, because he believes in free speech and the Constitution, he decided to come to “Law Day” rally attended by individuals who promoted the goals of communism. It is hard to believe - I fled communism 35 years ago and communism is following me to the United States, promoted by a U.S. Senator who also thinks that illegal immigration, breaking the laws of the country he swore to protect and defend, should be legalized because, he said, “My fellow immigrants, this is a once in a lifetime chance to get immigration reform.” I wonder from what country did Senator Durbin immigrate illegally. http://www.breibart.com/Big-Government/2013/05/02/Exclusive-Senator-Durbin-Defends-Rallying-with-Communists-and-Anarchists

We did “get” immigration reform in 1986 for 3 million illegal aliens and it did not work so well, we have gained since then 11 more million illegal immigrants. And they are still coming because the largesse of the American government towards invaders is world-renowned and their rights trump the rights of any American immediately upon arrival. All they have to do is “lawyer up.”

According to the Border Patrol, thousands have been apprehended since the administration and the Gang of Eight’s announcement of amnesty has been made. CBS news reported that in McAllen, Texas, 900 illegals were caught over a three day period. In March, 7,500 illegals were arrested in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas, more than triple from previous months. (Todd Beamon, Newsmax, May 1, 2013)

Illegal immigration in the U.S. had slowed during our deep economic recession, particularly since Mexico’s unemployment rate has held steady at 3.68 percent from 1994-2012. This prompted the American Border Control, the formerly U.S. Seaport Commission, a project of the U.S. Public Policy Council, to demand through its Executive Director, Jonathon Moseley, that U.S. citizens have the right to take jobs in Mexico. Moseley commented that “We are gullible suckers. The error of amnesty is the myth that Mexicans are in financial trouble.” www.AmericanBorderControl.org

American Border Control is “demanding that any compromise include a right for unemployed U.S. citizens to find jobs in Mexico after losing their jobs in the United States as a result of Sen. Marco Rubio’s policies.” Executive Director Jonathon Moseley said that “Those who showed contempt for our country by violating our laws and crashing the gate should not be also stealing jobs from U.S. citizens.”

Our President took an apology tour to Mexico to tout his immigration reform and shore up more Democrat voting support for the upcoming election. According to Daniel Halper of the Weekly Standard, he made the following gaffe, “It would provide a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million individuals who are already in this country illegally.”

He apologized to Mexican college students for our sovereignty and thanked them for helping elect him President. Should Mexico not apologize to us for their lack of social responsibility to their citizens? Should Mexico not at least thank us for feeding, clothing, sheltering, educating, and treating medically for free millions of their citizens who sneak into our country illegally, becoming a burden to the U.S. taxpayers?

Perhaps instead of waiting 8 years to gain a green card and then my American citizenship, I should have crossed the southern border with Mexico illegally. It would have been quicker, I would have received immediate financial help to support myself instead of working, I would not have needed to learn English or assimilate, the government would have translated everything for me, given me free medical care, free education, easy citizenship, no waiting in line, earned income credit for other people’s innumerable babies, and no uncomfortable interrogations and interviews.

Isn’t self-suicidal, tolerant America grand? What other country in the world rewards law-breakers with citizenship for anchor babies, voting rights, free education, free housing, free health care, welfare, and chain migration? La Raza should be so proud! Our own officials are subtly promoting Reconquista of southern California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas.

I came to this country to find freedom and I did find it for a while. But the bright lights of “the shiny city on the hill” are getting dimmer day by day, and the “shiny city” is getting more tarnished with every new regulation, law, executive order, and proclamation that benefits illegals and other foreign groups and hurts American citizens.

 

 

Becoming an American citizen

Few Americans give much thought to standing in endless lines or fighting daunting bureaucracy. That is because they are very seldom faced with such possibilities in every day life.
My move to the U.S. started three years before I ever set foot on the plane to New York - three years of endless audiences to various vice ministers, police, security police, passport office, translators, notaries, attorneys, and other mayoral officials. I had to prove that I had not debts, no criminal record, no communicable diseases, mental illness, associations to undesirable agencies and organization, etc.; each document had to be translated into English, notarized, typed only by state approved functionaries, and approved and re-approved by state, ministers, and security police. By the time I finished the entire process, I was exhausted, had not a dime to my name, and had lost all my rights as a Romanian citizen. I was literally a person without a country, a persona-non-grata, with no rights whatsoever. I had a Romanian passport with a single visa to the U.S., but no home and no ability to earn a living. I had to pay back my schooling although the Constitution stated clearly that education was free to all Romanian citizens at all levels. I was stripped of all rights simply because I petitioned for a visa to come study, work, and live in the world's freest republic. Unfortunately, the communist dictatorship thought that I was a spy and my motives were less than honest. As a matter of fact, everyone who made contact at all with a foreigner without prior authorization, was immediately under suspicion and surveillance by the dreaded Security Police. When my fiance's mother came to visit, we had to answer questions at 2 a.m. downtown at the police headquarters. The interrogation lasted over two hours - the cops wanted to know why we did not notify them ahead of time of the visit? All the while, because they controlled the population's whereabouts through draconian block by block registration, they knew exactly who was coming and going into and out of the country. My parents and I were taken in separate vans and interrogated separately as if we had committed a crime. Jean and her son Bill were bewildered that their visit had caused so much distress and heartache to us. Americans could not understand or fathom total control, but we were used to living under constant surveillance and under a microscope. Our phones were tapped, our letters opened, our visits, moves, and job locations were recorded carefully. Nobody could ever be incognito anywhere on the soil of a totalitarian society. And they were doing this without the benefit of cameras or computers! We had become a nation of spies and traitors - spying and betraying our own families for an extra loaf of bread, a pound of meat, bananas, or oranges. It was very sad, knowing that nobody trusted anybody. The survival instinct taught us to accept and circumvent disturbing laws and rules and to keep quiet. People learned to take secrets to their graves.

Was it easy to become an American citizen? Not really. After my arrival in 1978, I lived for two years as a resident alien. I could not vote, I could not be on welfare (not that I wanted to, I was certainly poor enough to qualify), and had no rights. I did not march in the streets demanding same rights as American citizens because I understood I was not an American. I did not wave the Romanian flag in the face of Americans while shouting angrily that America will some day be ours. I learned English better each day. I had studied two years in high school, but it was not good enough. I wanted to become part of the fabric of this society, to understand it, honor it, respect it, and immerse in its culture. I did not want to lose my heritage, I kept it alive at home, but I wanted to be an American. After two years, I felt competent enough to apply for citizenship. I had to study the Constitution, take a test, pass it with flying colors, and be interrogated for three hours by an immigration officer in Memphis. I knew more about the U.S. history and Constitution than most Americans. I spoke better English than most Americans. I spelled better. I was truly prepared. The paperwork was very expansive, difficult to obtain, expensive to translate, and the taxes to the government were costly. As a poor student, just driving three hours to Memphis several times a year was prohibitive. I had to decide sometimes whether I paid for documents and gas to the Immigration Office, or for food and shelter. It took two years and a few months before I was approved and finally sworn in as a Naturalized Citizen in the Court of Oxford, MS. It was a very proud day for me and four years in coming. I was no longer persona-non-grata, I had gained a country, a language, safe borders, and a culture resplendent with a tapestry of many nations, ethnicities, all united by a common language and goal, freedom. We were truly a melting pot, not a tossed salad bowl. What a sweet day, May 20, 1982!

I don't take my American citizenship lightly and I watch in helpless disbelief the demonstration of utter contempt and hatred for our laws by illegal aliens and their supporters, La Rasa, the democrats, and the administration who are demanding amnesty for breaking the law. The foreign flag-waving and the burning of the American flag in the faces of Americans is shocking. The calls for violence against Americans, racial hatred, pitting one ethnic group against another, go unpunished. The federal government is approving and stoking lawlessness, racial divide, and the destruction of our culture and country. What makes hispanics more deserving of American citizenship just because they jumped a fence illegally? Why should we reward bad behavior? There are thousands of immigrants who are waiting their turns patiently, filling out forms after forms, waiting years sometimes to receive or be denied a visa to freedom. Vast oceans separate them from our borders. Does that make them less deserving of becoming legal residents? I had to prove that I had a sponsor in the U.S. who was willing and able to support me if need be. I also had to have thousands of dollars in a bank account so that I won't become the ward of the state. Yet that is exactly what is happening now with all the hispanics who illegally set foot on our soil - they drop their anchor babies and claim permanent residence and citizenship rights when their anchor babies turn 18. I had to pay for years for the birth of my babies because we had no insurance, yet all illegals benefit from free medical and pre-natal care, food, housing, WIC, compliments of the U.S. taxpayer. Why? Should the Mexican government not have some responsibility for their fleeing citizens? They have more wealth in petroleum than our country does, they certainly can afford to institute social programs to eradicate poverty in Mexico. The Mexican gang violence and drug trade are spilling onto our southern borders and the federal government is doing very little to curtail it. It is up to the states like Arizona to defend their own borders against the massive invasion. As one very savy conservative had said, borders, language, and culture are very important and must be preserved at all costs. Our soldiers would have died in vain if we fail to protect our borders and allow illegal immigration to wreck this beautiful nation. We are successful because we are free and are united by a common goal and our faith in God.