‘A tremendous privilege to call home’: Beaufort celebrates naturalized US citizens
César Etanislao first visited the United States from his home in the Dominican Republic when he was 13, never imagining that he would one day call it home.
But Saturday, nearly 30 years later, he spoke to a gathered crowd at Beaufort Waterfront Park Pavilion as a newly-minted U.S. citizen.
“I never thought the moment would come where I would have to leave behind my home country, my family, friends and achievements to start a new life from zero, like all other immigrants,” he said at Saturday’s Celebrating Citizenship In Beaufort event.
Spouses Davis and Kathy Folsom, both retired educators who now work as civics tutors in Beaufort County, came up with the idea for the event four years ago, when they stumbled upon the New Americans Museum on a trip to San Diego.
In April, they established a steering committee to plan what they thought would be a small event with a few dozen people; on Saturday, a crowd of around 100 milled about the park, visiting booths for the Lowcountry Immigration Coalition, registering to vote, shaking hands with U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham and listening to the Lowcountry Community Band.
Etanislao met the Folsoms after leaving the Dominican Republic due to political unrest while studying for his civics test to become a citizen.
He became a naturalized citizen of the United States in March, followed a month later by his son César Isaac.
“We made no mistake in choosing to be part of this society that concentrates its strength on unity and respect for diversity of ethnicities, culture, religion and thoughts, which are the pillars on which this great nation has developed,” he said.
Etanislao said Saturday that leaving the Dominican Republic was “a big compromise,” one that brought with it too many emotions to describe. But he said he felt it was his duty as a Latino immigrant to show that he could be successful and buck stereotypes.
“I don’t like to show off,” Etanislao said. “But sometimes you need to tell people who you are.”
He holds two degrees in advertising and marketing, and worked as a professor for 15 years in the Dominican Republic. Here, he works as a car sales consultant, and his wife Isabel Jenkins, also an immigrant, is a director for Parris Island’s Marine Corps Community Services.
“When you come from a Latin country, you don’t come to commit crimes or do bad things, as some people say,” Etanislao said. “You come to make your dreams come true and to help the country.”
Clara Menuhin-Hauser, another naturalized citizen from Australia, also visited the United States for the first time when she was 13 to visit her grandparents. They were also immigrants: her grandfather had stowed away on a ship from Russia in his youth to escape the pogroms, she told the crowd Saturday.
Menuhin-Hauser has lived in the states for nearly 40 years, but didn’t consider citizenship until after 9/11, she said. She became a citizen on Feb. 12, 2008. As she drove home from the ceremony, she said, “I was so struck by the beauty of the marsh, in the light of my new relationship to this country that I had to pull over and weep.”
“If you’re ever curious about what it is that people from other countries find truly noble and inspiring about this country, please ask a naturalized American,” she said. “We will be happy to share with you what we think makes this country a tremendous privilege to call home.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2019 at 1:02 PM.