2005 News Archive

November 17, 2005
Bucks County Hosts Naturalization Ceremony

Thirty-seven Bucks County residents from 23 countries became citizens of the United States today in the first naturalization ceremony which was held in the Bucks County Courthouse, Doylestown.

The Honorable Cynthia M. Rufe, United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, presided over the federal court proceeding. Also, federal and county court judges and other county officials stood alongside family members and friends as the ceremony began at 3:30 p.m. in Courtroom #1.

In describing how the United States remains a melting pot, a nation of immigrants, Judge Rufe introduced the Common Pleas Court Judges and special guests, asking each to tell the gathering where their ancestors had emigrated from.

In conjunction with this historic event, an immigration exhibit is on display in the third-floor Courthouse Rotunda, on loan from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals William H. Hastie Library.

Judge Rufe was appointed to her current position in 2002 by President George W. Bush. Prior to serving on the federal bench, she was a Bucks County Common Pleas Court judge.

The Bucks County Bar Association hosted a reception for the new citizens and their families in the third –floor Courthouse Rotunda.

The applicants came from China, People’s Republic, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Ghana, Haiti, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Korea and Moldova.

Also, Panama, Poland, Russia, South Korea, Switzerland, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey,United Kingdom, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.