Haitham Layth Mohammed Ali trembled anxiously Thursday as he raised his right hand to recite an oath of allegiance to his new home country.
Moments later, the 11-year-old who fled to Utah from Iraq with his family held up a certificate of U.S. citizenship, saying it made him feel like a true American.
“It really means a lot to me,” the boy said as he was surrounded by his beaming mother, aunt and younger sisters at a ceremony in Salt Lake City.
Ali and nearly a dozen other immigrant children had already obtained citizenship through their parents, whether by adoption or their parents becoming naturalized citizens.