Thousands sworn in as U.S. citizens in outdoor ceremony

Over one-thousand people from 48 different countries became U.S. citizens this morning.

The swearing in ceremony took place this morning at the El Paso County Coliseum, but it was a last minute change to the ceremony that had some people concerned.

The naturalization ceremony was supposed to takes place inside the county coliseum. However, this year a scheduling conflict with the coliseum forced the event to take place outside.

Family and friends stood outside under tents waiting for their loved ones to officially become U.S. citizens. Many with water in hand to try and beat the heat. This years ceremony was forced to be held outside due to a scheduled Juanes concert that is taking place later this evening at the coliseum.
According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Department, they were not notified of the scheduling conflict until this past Monday. Rather than un-inviting all the 12-hundred applicants invited, the department decided to go on with the ceremony but made sure to prepare for the heat.

“We put air conditioners, and tents and did whatever we could to make it happen because in the end it’s the difference between people becoming citizens today or waiting longer until we could find a venue and so forth,” said Margaret Hartnett, USCIDS field office director.