Hundreds becoming US citizens on 4th of July in Arizona

PHOENIX — On this Fourth of July, hundreds of immigrants are becoming America’s newest citizens here in the Valley.

Aliaa AlHaddad from Syria is among them. She has been living in Arizona for five years.

“I finally last year got my license as a pharmacist,” she said. “I started working here as a pharmacist, and I really love it.”

She also got married and now has a 2-year-old son.

On Thursday, she was set to join 375 other immigrants pledging allegiance to the United States at naturalization ceremonies in Mesa and Phoenix. Altogether, they represent 105 countries.

AlHaddad is becoming a U.S. citizen through a petition by her husband.

“We met back in Syria when he went to visit home,” she said. “We fell in love, and he brought me here to the U.S.”

AlHaddad says leaving Syria was difficult. She has extended family still living in Syria, and she hasn’t been able to visit due to the Trump administration’s travel ban on Syria.

She said it took some time to adjust to the fast-paced lifestyle in the U.S. But she’s happy to have found a home here.

“In the United States you have the opportunity to grow in your work, in your studies,” she said. “There’s always opportunity to grow.”

AlHaddad said getting to become a U.S. citizen on Independence Day makes it that much more special.

“It’ll be a really nice memory,” she said. “Every Fourth of July, I will remember it.”

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