New legal immigrants accept the “highest responsibility” as they join the American family, President Donald Trump says in a short video for use in naturalization ceremonies.
Trump’s message and tone are far different from those of President Barack Obama, who told migrants that citizenship is for their convenience: “It’s about adding a new chapter to your journey as an American citizen and to our journey as a nation of immigrants,” Obama told would-be migrants in 2015.
In his welcome message to the new migrants, Trump says:
My fellow Americans, how exciting this is. Congratulations. Today, you receive one of the most priceless gifts ever granted by human hands. You become a citizen of the United States of America. What an honor.
It is with great pride and wisdom in so many different ways — because you have such great wisdom — that I welcome you into our national family. No matter where you come from, you now share a home and a heritage with some of the most exceptional heroes, legends, and patriots to ever walk the face of the Earth. All of the triumphs and glories of American history now belong to you. You have it in your being. You have it like nobody’s had it before.
With this sacred honor comes the highest responsibility. As you know, the American way of life is unique in all the world, and as Americans, we must fiercely guard it and defend it.
In this country, we believe in hard work and merit system and equality of opportunity. We believe in self-government, and the fair and equal and impartial rule of law, and we cherish our liberty and our God-given rights to free speech, free exercise of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms. This special American culture is now yours to preserve. Your freedoms are now yours to protect. Our entire nation is now yours to love and to help build, and we trust that you will do a fantastic job and make us very, very proud.
Congratulations once again. God bless you and God Bless America.
Under Congress’s 1990 immigration law, the administration annually legalizes roughly 1 million new citizens. That inflow is huge — and adds roughly 1 new immigrant for every 3.5 native births.
Trump’s “highest responsibility” message is a reminder that new citizens are expected to be loyal to their fellow citizens. For example, the citizenship oath says:
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen.
But for decades, Democrats have used migration to change U.S. demographics and culture and to weaken the political clout of native-born Americans. From 2021 to 2025, for example, President Joe Biden imported at least 10 million illegal migrants.
Naturalization “is not about changing who you are, it’s about adding a new chapter to your journey… and to our journey as a nation of immigrants,” Obama said in his 2015 message.
His video was devoid of any images that suggest Americans’ accomplishments. Instead, Obama described the United States as a “Nation of Immigrants” where migrants lead the nation:
The true strength of a nation lies not in its might but in the courage and conviction of its people, our hopes, our dreams, our boundless determination to set down roots and build a better life, not just for ourselves but for our families, for our communities, for our children, for all of us.
The “Nation of Immigrants” narrative was successfully pushed in the 1950s and 1960s by pro-migration advocates to replace the older view of America as a nation of settlers, pioneers, and entrepreneurs. This elite narrative was expanded in the 1990s as Democrats insisted that ‘Diversity is our Greatest Strength.”
In a 2015 naturalization ceremony, for example, Obama praised migrants above citizens:
I’m proud to be among the first to greet you as ‘My fellow Americans’… We can never say it often or loudly enough: Immigrants and refugees revitalize and renew America.” … Immigrants are the teachers who inspire our children, and they’re the doctors who keep us healthy. They’re the engineers who design our skylines, and the artists and the entertainers who touch our hearts. Immigrants are soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen who protect us, often risking their lives for an America that isn’t even their own yet.
Obama also sought to harness new migrants to his progressive political machine:
Today is not the final step in your journey… Our system of self-government depends on ordinary citizens doing the hard, frustrating but always essential work of citizenship — of being informed … Of speaking out when something is not right. Of helping fellow citizens when they need a hand. Of coming together to shape our country’s course … And to vote.
But Trump’s speech does not mention that “Nation of Immigrants” narrative, nor the diversity that progressives want to impose on Americans’ evolving society.
“There’s no celebration of diversity, there’s no celebration of past immigrants,” Jason Edwards, a communications professor at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, complained to NPR.
Instead, Trump revives the older view of the United States as a strong culture that absorbs migrants. For example, Trump said:
In this country, we believe in hard work and merit system and equality of opportunity. We believe in self-government, and the fair and equal and impartial rule of law, and we cherish our liberty and our God-given rights to free speech, free exercise of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms. This special American culture is now yours to preserve.
“President Trump’s message to new citizens is an essential one,” said Matthew Tragesser, a spokesman for the agency that manages the naturalization process. “U.S. citizenship is a privilege and reserved for those who respect our laws, culture, and history.”
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