Immigration

Juan Muriel Alcantara received American citizenship today, but he didn’t attend the ceremony. The only people who got to hold his certificate were his grief-stricken mother, two sisters, his fiancée and their two-month old baby.

 

Juan Alcantara, 22, was a U.S. Army corporal who died last month in Iraq.

 

During the citizenship ceremony at the City College of New York, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services posthumously awarded citizenship to the corporal, who was an immigrant from the Dominican Republic and resided in Washington Heights.

 

Held in the stained-glassed and pillared Great Hall of Shepard Hall of the city college, the ceremony began a little after 10 a.m. and was officiated over by Andrea Quarantillo, the district director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

 

Gregory H. Williams, the president of the college; Jay Hershenson, the senior vice-Chancellor; and U.S. Representative Charles B. Rangel all spoke encouragingly about how the new citizens would transform America, with hard work, talent, and a good education. Quarantillo administered the oath of allegiance to the 250 candidates, then congratulated and welcomed the new citizens for the first time.

 

Even amidst the cheers, it was hard to ignore the Alcantara family sitting in the front row, with Juan Alcantara’s baby girl in a black stroller parked in the aisle. During his remarks, Williams said that Alcantara gave “what Abraham Lincoln called ‘the last full measure of devotion.’”

 

President Bush said in a congratulatory video that the new citizens were now “free to live out dreams.” As a photo of Juan Alcantara was projected onto a screen, Rangel took the podium and said that by their being in attendance, Alcantara’s family was helping to make sure that “his dreams are not forgotten” – dreams that included being a good father and joining the police force.

 

According to Rangel, Alcantara gave his life, but he also gave up who he was to the people who love him. A father. A son. A friend and future husband.

 

“He took an oath to defend the flag,” said Rangel. He did it “for you”— he pointed to crowd—“for you”—he pointed again—“and for me.” As he gave the certificate to Alcantara’s family, he ended by saying, “God bless the family, and the dream will continue to live on.”

 

He then embraced Alcantara’s mother, Maria Alcantara, who sobbed for her son.

 

The ceremony ended with a moment of silence and “An Inspirational Video about America,” played to the tune of “God Bless the U.S.A.” As the family left, Alcantara’s mother continued to blow her nose on a limp handkerchief. Later, her words to reporters, which were spoken in Spanish and translated by her daughter, revealed that she’s proud of her son and is grateful for his citizenship certificate. But she also thinks it comes a bit too late.

 

Juan Alcantara died Aug. 6 in Iraq when an improvised bomb exploded in a house that he and three other members of his squad were searching north of Baghdad.

 

In spite of her grief, Alcantara’s fiancée, Sayonara Lopez, said that she was happy, because this was “something he wanted.” Lopez cradled Jaylani, her and Alcantara’s daughter of two months, while Alcantara’s citizenship certificate, in gilded black frame, sat in Jaylani’s baby stroller.

 

Fredelinda Pena, 25, said that although she is proud of her brother,she has mixed feelings about the posthumously awarded citizenship. There’s “no type of logic to it,” she said. “It’s not rational. What, they’re gonna take the oath in the coffin?” She said she wasn’t sure her brother would go fight in Iraq again, if he somehow came back to life and was given the second chance to decide. What upsets the family the most, she said, is that Alcantara was never allowed to come home to meet his daughter for the first time, though he asked for permission repeatedly.

 

The dichotomy between the sadness surrounding Alcantara and the joy of the new American citizens didn’t faze Williams. He said he knew that it was a difficult day for the Alcantara family but thought that the ceremony provided an opportunity for folks to come together to celebrate citizenship. Williams has two adopted sons of his own from Honduras, and remembers when they received citizenship. He says he still gets emotional when he sees a ceremony.

 

Augusto Alarcon, 24, from Peru, celebrated his newly awarded citizenship with his mother by taking pictures. Alarcon, who has been in the U.S. since he was 6 and waited a year for his citizenship to be processed, didn’t find the juxtaposition strange, either. According to him, citizenship is a “privilege and a great opportunity” for anyone.