Citizenship Month 2026 is a reminder that power is ultimately in the hands of American voters
For Barbara Colombo, Hussein Amuri and many other new Americans, observances during Citizenship Month 2026 should carry added significance. They are all among the immigrants who have been sworn in as U.S. citizens in recent days, with Colombo and Amuri becoming full Americans during a naturalization ceremony at the Vermont State House in Montpelier, Vermont, VTDigger reports. The pair were among nearly 50 immigrants from 21 countries to take the oath of citizenship during a “solemn and hopeful” ceremony held on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
“Under our laws, those freedoms are yours as a matter of right, without regard to the persons who may hold any given political office at any time,” said Senior U.S. District Judge William K. Sessions III, who has presided over every single such ceremony for more than two decades, excluding during the pandemic. “In a free society, every right has a duty, and every freedom has a responsibility.”
‘I REGISTERED TO VOTE TODAY!’
“It was very touching,” said Colombo, a psychologist and professor who is originally from Italy. Amuri, a refugee originally from Tanzania, described feeling “restored,” VTDigger reported, after reaching the closing chapter of his naturalization process.
“Much of my community engagement ended when I couldn’t vote,” Amuri explained. With full U.S. citizenship, he feels he can now fully participate in his civic duties. “Knowing that now I have the voice … is very, very surreal,” he said. Amuri wasn’t alone in preparing to make his voice heard. VTDigger reports that Colombo was wearing a “I registered to vote today!” sticker while posing for photos with her son.
In Pennsylvania’s Bedford County, one new U.S. citizen who was forced to flee the Bahamas following the destruction of Hurricane Dorian in 2019 expressed similar excitement over full civic participation. Kirstie Totter “said that Friday’s ceremony means she can begin her work as an American citizen,” the Altoona Mirror reported. “It means that my vote matters,” she said. “I get to have a voice.”
“I was born in China and grew up in Argentina,” said Ying Wang, who became a U.S. citizen during a ceremony in Pennsylvania’s Monroe County. “Then I came to America. And I finished school and started working, and met my husband here, so it is an amazing journey.” That journey now also includes a chance to make her voice fully heard.
“I never got a chance my whole life to be able to vote or participate in jury duty or anything like that before,” Wang continued, “so I am very, very excited.”
NEW AMERICANS HAVE ‘COME FROM NEARLY EVERY PART OF THE WORLD’
In the last decade, more than 7.9 million eligible immigrants have obtained American citizenship, including 818,500 individuals in the 2024 fiscal year, according to National Partnership for New Americans (NPNA). “California, Florida, and New York alone account for over half of all naturalizations, followed by Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Virginia, Georgia, Massachusetts, and Washington.”
These new Americans have “come from nearly every part of the world,” making the fabric of our nation stronger, richer and more colorful.
TRUMP’S INTENTIONAL PLAN TO SUPPRESS NATURALIZATION
However, during the first year of Donald Trump’s second administration NPNA noted declining naturalization rates directly resulting from “restrictive, anti-immigrant policies,” including “stricter ‘good moral character’ standards, a harder civics exam,” and thousands of discretionary denials that in some cases chaotically upended the naturalization process moments before applicants were set to take the oath of office.
“When coupled with decreased approvals,” NPNA continued, “it is clear that the increased barriers to naturalization implemented during the first year of the second Trump administration is slowing the rate at which non-citizens become new Americans.”
It makes Citizenship Month 2026 and its related observances, including this Thursday’s Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, all the more critical. “Past leaders of both parties jointly established Constitution Day and Citizenship Day,” NPNA said. “Today, we remain dedicated to upholding human rights, protecting the constitutional right to birthright citizenship, and preserving and expanding pathways to citizenship. We renew our commitment to build a more inclusive, equitable, and united future for all who call the United States home.”
On #CitizenshipDay, we celebrate the millions of immigrants who have taken the step of becoming U.S. citizens while also recognizing the millions more who deserve the opportunity to fully belong in the country they call home. 🇺🇸
— America's Voice (@americasvoice.bsky.social) 2026-09-17T14:55:28.552Z
VOTERS ARE ‘DISSATISFIED WITH THE DIRECTION’ OF THE NATION
Citizenship Month 2026 has space for current voters, too. This past August, NPNA and its partners kicked off the ”Together We Are America” campaign, a “call to action for voters who are naturalized citizens, first-generation Americans with immigrant parents, and allies who are thinking of their immigrant neighbors when they head to the ballot box,” said NPNA Executive Director Nicole Melaku. In a new episode of the organization’s “Together We Vote” podcast, “three naturalized Americans who share their journey in becoming U.S. citizens and what motivates them to show up for their communities at the ballot box.” Watch the episode trailer below, and the full episode here:
“A majority of voters are dissatisfied with the current direction of the country,” NPNA said. “As of July 2026, only 35 percent of voters approve of our government’s current priorities, with 60 percent disapproving—the lowest ratings regarding inflation, foreign relations, jobs, and the economy.”
Recent polling commissioned by America’s Voice has also shown that American voters agree that the administration’s targeting of essential workers like farmworkers, construction workers and healthcare professionals is making their lives more expensive and putting daily necessities increasingly out of reach. In fact, a Morris Predictive Insights/Verasight poll shows that a full 68% of Americans agree the administration is focusing too much on deportations and not enough on fixing the economy and cost of living.
A CALL TO STAND UP, BE COUNTED AND ACT AHEAD OF NOVEMBER
“For the last year and a half Americans have watched the deportation machine in action: armed and masked agents in unmarked cars terrorizing communities, families torn apart, people dying in custody and on the street,” said America’s Voice Executive Director Vanessa Cárdenas. “This terror hasn’t made us more safe. It hasn’t brought social stability and economic prosperity. To the contrary, it has instilled chaos and fear and helped wreck our economy. Poll after poll, in red states and blue, shows Americans are rejecting Trump’s lawless and dangerous purge.”
“Voters have seen up close the damage that has been inflicted, and they are done paying for it – the cost to taxpayers, the cost to our economy, the cost in human lives,” Cárdenas continued. “In November, Americans will have their say on Trump’s America, and will stand up for their immigrant friends, neighbors, and our Constitution.”
