BOISE, Idaho — 59 people from 24 countries living in 11 different cities across southern Idaho became United States citizens on Friday at the James A. McClure Federal Building and Courthouse. Judge Candy Dale presided over the naturalization ceremony, and the courtroom deputy administered the Oath of Allegiance.
They come from the following countries:
- Afghanistan
- Bhutan
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Myanmar (formerly Burma)
- Burundi
- Congo (Kinshasa)
- Croatia
- Germany
- Hong Kong
- Iran
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Pakistan
- Peru
- Philippines
- Russia
- South Korea
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Sweden
- Syria
- Thailand
- Vietnam
They live in various cities:
- American Falls
- Boise
- Buhl
- Caldwell
- Eagle
- Emmett
- Fruitland
- Meridian
- Nampa
- Rupert
- Twin Falls
One of those people was Basir Qurbani, whose journey to today started 12 years ago in Afghanistan. "To be a U.S. citizen and to be able to live in the United States is a dream come true for me and I have been waiting for this day for a long time to be exact since 2009. I came here in 2017. I was working for the United States Army as a translator and that's how I came here," said Qurbani.
Since coming here he went to college which led him to his dream job. "I can say I have achieved most of my goals. I have always wanted to be a software engineer and now I'm a software engineer."
While today was a dream come true for Qurbani it's also one of mixed emotion. "I still have family members, like my parents, living in Afghanistan. Especially with the withdrawing of U.S troops from Afghanistan, now I'm worried about them and on the other side I'm happy for myself that I could get out of there and able to come here to start a new family and live in peace," said Quarbani.
The overall theme of Friday's Naturalization ceremony was by becoming citizens, the United States is a better place because we're better together.
