Biden Fêtes the Newly Naturalized Ahead of July 4

The White House hosted a cozy naturalization ceremony Friday for a diverse group of immigrants while unveiling a new strategy to expand U.S. citizenship opportunities.

WASHINGTON (CN) — President Joe Biden hosted a naturalization ceremony Friday at the White House, welcoming 21 new citizens ahead of Independence Day as his cabinet takes another step away from the previous administration’s hardline immigration agenda.

The newly sworn-in citizens hail from Afghanistan, Canada, China, Columbia, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iraq, Nepal, New Zealand, Panama, Philippines, South Korea and the United Kingdom.

“Today, our nation is better than it was yesterday. It is better in part because we have new citizens in it,” said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas — an immigrant himself, as he was brought to the U.S. from Cuba when he was a year old. “Our country is better today because its identity and fabric as a nation of immigration is stronger because of you.”

The ceremony comes as part of the White House’s effort to swear in 10,000 new citizens, and kicks off a new outreach effort to encourage longtime residents to apply for U.S. citizenship.

“Since our nation’s founding,” Biden told those assembled, “the quintessential idea in America has been nurtured and enriched and advanced by the contributions and sacrifices of so many people — almost all of whom were immigrants.”

Earlier in the day, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services released a new campaign fashioned from the recommendations of a working group established by Biden’s Feb. 2 executive orders to develop welcoming strategies that promote integration, inclusion and citizenship.

“Becoming a United States citizen is a tremendous privilege,” Mayorkas said in a statement at the release of the report. “New citizens, strengthened with the power and responsibilities that American citizenship brings, make our nation better. This strategy will ensure that aspiring citizens are able to pursue naturalization through a clear and coordinated process.”

The campaign will promote naturalization, targeting both lawful permanent residents and individuals at other steps of the immigration process: like those who have been granted a Social Security number.

“It is fitting that this report is being released days before our nation’s 245th birthday,”  said USCIS Acting Director Tracy Renaud. “There is no greater testament to the strength of America than our willingness to encourage others to join us as U.S. citizens as we work together to build a more perfect union.

On his first day in office, Biden sent a sweeping immigration bill to Congress which would provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status.

“We need to fix our immigration system and fully tap that talent and dynamism in our nation,” Biden said.

Biden’s immigration legislation has since stalled in Congress.

The event was the first naturalization ceremony at the White House of the administration. President Donald Trump held one during the Republican National Convention last August.