News Release

MANZANAR TO HOST CITIZENSHIP CEREMONY FEBRUARY 23

New citizens shortly after taking their Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America at Manzanar National Historic Site, May 10, 2019.

NPS/Manzanar

News Release Date: February 17, 2023

Contact: Alisa Lynch, 760-878-2194x3311

INDEPENDENCE, CA — Manzanar National Historic Site will host U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for a naturalization ceremony at noon, Thursday, February 23, in the Manzanar Visitor Center. Twenty-five people from countries around the world—including Argentina, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Yemen—will take their Oath of Allegiance to become United States citizens. All are welcome to attend. 

Manzanar Superintendent Brenda Ling will welcome the new citizens and their families and assist in presenting certificates. “This will be a proud moment for many during the naturalization ceremony. This day is special not just for the person who becomes a citizen, but also for the family,” said Ling.  

Jeff Gabriel, executive director of Manzanar’s non-profit partner Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association (ESIA), will present each new citizen with an “America the Beautiful” pass for one year of free entry to national parks and other federal recreational lands. The Inyo County Elections Office will offer voter registration for the new citizens and qualified others. 

Saburo and Ann Sasaki are long-time volunteers at Manzanar. He was incarcerated here during World War II. After an earlier ceremony, Ann reflected, “It was ironic to hold a citizenship ceremony here when I thought not too many years ago, Saburo’s father and mother were here, incarcerated here, and they could not become citizens. So it was wonderful that we could actually have it here. It meant something. I think we hit a milestone, a good one.” 

The ceremony is scheduled in February to commemorate the Day of Remembrance at Manzanar. On February 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, allowing the US Army to forcibly remove and incarcerate more than 125,000 Japanese Americans and immigrants of Japanese ancestry during World War II. In 1988, the US Government apologized for the unconstitutional incarceration. Every year, communities and organizations host Day of Remembrance events around the country.  

Manzanar National Historic Site is located at 5001 Highway 395, six miles south of Independence and nine miles north of Lone Pine, California. Learn more on our website at https://www.nps.gov/manz or explore “ManzanarNationalHistoricSite” on Facebook and “ManzanarNPS” on YouTube and Instagram.