Four Winds Field to hold naturalization ceremony welcoming 78 new U.S. citizens

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Four Winds Field in South Bend will host 78 new United States citizens on Wednesday evening when it holds a naturalization ceremony ahead of the South Bend Cubs game on Wednesday, July 3.

The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will welcome the new citizens during the ceremony which will be presided over by U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael G. Gotsch, Sr. at 4:55 p.m.

According to organizers of the ceremony, the citizenship candidates come from the following 28 countries: The Bahamas, Burma, Canada, China, Costa Rica, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Jamaica, Korea (South), Laos, Liberia, Mauritania, Mexico, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Rwanda, Thailand, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Zambia.

"Naturalization ceremonies honor the commitment to and conclusion of an immigrant’s journey to citizenship," said Executive Assistant to the Clerk of the Court Mary Rouse. "Special venues like Four Winds Field and the fact that this ceremony takes place on the eve of our nation’s annual Independence Day makes this ceremony even more significant to the new citizens and their families, and to those watching from the stands."