On April 4, 2019, the Honorable Martin L.C. Feldman, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, presided over a naturalization ceremony in which 16 foreign-born individuals became United States citizens. Attorney Christopher Alfieri, representative of the New Orleans Federal Bar Association, served as keynote note speaker for the event. Mr. Alfieri encouraged the naturalization candidates to embrace American ideals while still maintaining their ethnic cultures and traditions, stressing that America's strength lies in its many cultures and peoples. Following Mr. Alfieri's address, Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenn Schreiber, acting as the U.S. Attorney General's designee, certified the candidates' eligibility for naturalization. The candidates then recited the Oath of Allegiance to the United States as administered by Judge Feldman. Judge Feldman gave closing remarks in which he emphasized the many freedoms enjoyed by the American people, including "the freedom to be who you want to be." Following the ceremony, the new citizens were offered the opportunity to register to vote at a table where the Honorable Miriam Waltzer, former Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge and member of the New Orleans Chapter of the League of Women Voters, was assisting new citizens in the application process. Please select this link to access ceremony photographs.