100 people take citizenship oath in Peoria naturalization ceremony

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — It's been a long time coming for these new U.S. citizens.

At the Peoria Public Library, a naturalization ceremony ushered in 100 new citizens.

Families and friends looked on as the oath was administered by Senior U.S. District Judge James Shadid.

From this point on, they were endowed with full rights and on equal footing with their neighbors.

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"It does make me feel [that] I'm part of this," said Yang Song, who is originally from China.

He admitted to becoming overcome with emotion. "I really liked the speech by the judge. It echoes a lot of the voice from me. Definitely gives me some tears in my eyes."

In order to gain citizenship, a person has to live in the U.S. for a minimum of five years and then take a citizenship exam. To pass, they have to demonstrate command of U.S. geography, presidential history and the English language.

Many expressed how they viewed their newly earned citizenship as a high honor.

"I feel awesome, it's like a dream come true," said Zaigham Farooq, who is originally from Pakistan. "You just feel jubilant. I get tremors feeling that I am a U.S. citizen now."

The journey from immigrant to citizen can sometimes take decades.

Miriam McKibben moved from Mexico when she was 6 years old. That was 22 years ago.

"It was very difficult," she said. "Everything had to be out of pocket. I had to work three jobs trying to pay everything on my own. Getting through college, though, is a little bit difficult. Took extra years because it has had to slow down a little bit. But it was worth it."

Now that she's a U.S. citizen, what does she plan to do?

"Have a baby."