The Chicago U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), along with the Secretary of State Jesse White, hosted a special naturalizations ceremony on Tuesday, Sept. 26th at Daley Plaza. The event is part of USCIS’ annual celebration of Constitution Day and Citizenship Day. More than 27,000 people will become U.S. citizens during 160 naturalization ceremonies across the country from September 16th to September 23rd.

Honored guests and speakers included: the Honorable Joan B. Gottschal, Judge, United States District court for the Northern District of Illinois; Mai Martinez, CBS 2 Chicago Anchor; Secretary of State Jesse White; the Honorable James Balcer, Chairman of the Secretary of State’s Veternas’ Advisoroy Council; Thomas Cioppa, USCIS Chicago District Director; the Joint Service Color Guard and the United States Navy Band, Great Lakes.

Constitution Day and Citizenship Day is commemorated in September in honor of the signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787. In 1952, President Harry Truman signed a bill formalizing the celebration of Citizenship Day. In 2004, Congress established Sept. 17 as Constitution Day and Citizenship Day.