By SPA,
Washington : U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday welcomed new U.S. citizens at a naturalization ceremony at Monticello, Virginia.
Bush’s welcoming remarks came on July 4, which is the day of independence for the United States. Bush welcomed the 72 people getting their naturalization, from 30 different countries, saying “I’ll be proud to call you a fellow American.”
Paying tribute to one of the founders of the United States of America, Thomas Jefferson, Bush said “throughout our history the words of the declaration have inspired immigrants around the world to set sail to our shores…they made America a melting pot of culture from all across the world. They made diversity a great strength of our democracy.”
Of those taking the oath to become American citizens, Bush said “you all have one thing in common—and that is a shared love of freedom … and this is the love that makes us all Americans.”
Before his brief remarks, the President was given a tour of Jefferson’s home including the room where the author of the Declaration of Independence died on July 4, 1826.