‘Citizens by choice’: 36 Milwaukee Area Technical students earn US citizenship

After meeting and marrying her husband in Mexico, Fabiola Robles Ávila decided to move to the United States, where he had citizenship.

Over the next decade, the couple welcomed three little girls while Avila worked hard to learn to speak English.

She was finally confident enough, with the help of Milwaukee Area Technical College, to apply to become a naturalized U.S. Citizen.

Avila joined 35 MATC classmates Nov. 18 to receive a small American flag and to be officially sworn in with a Naturalization Oath of Allegiance.

“Thank you to my husband, for showing us his strength and teaching me that hard work pays off,” Avila said. “To my daughters for so much love and for pushing me to achieve my goals and making me a better person every day.” 

MATC’s four-month citizenship preparation classes helps students pass the civics exam, reading and writing test, formal interview and application.

The number of students in the program this year nearly doubled from 2023.

MATC President Anthony Cruz, who is the son of Cuban immigrants, called the students’ journey inspiring. 

“Many of us in the room were born in this country and are citizens by birth, but those of you that are now citizens are citizens by choice,” Cruz said. “What a beautiful choice to have to become citizens of this great country.”

Cruz told the students that now they can participate in many activities to make their voices heard. Most importantly, voting. 

“It’s very important that you’ve taken this journey now through many weeks, many months, maybe some of you, many years, obviously, to get to this point,” Cruz said. “Now this is the launching point for the rest of your lives. Of course you bring your own lives, your traditions, your histories, to this great country. But now it’s time to get more infused into this country and to be able to participate in so many things to make this country better.”

Wisconsin has a small but growing community of immigrants, most of whom come to the state from Mexico. 

Five percent of Wisconsin residents are immigrants, while another 5 percent of residents are native-born U.S. citizens with at least one immigrant parent, according to the American Immigration Council. 

President-elect Donald Trump has confirmed campaign promises to declare a national emergency and use the U.S. military to assist in his plans for mass deportation. 

That makes the timing of the MATC celebration even more relevant. 

Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson told the students citizenship is more than just a legal document, it’s a commitment between an individual and the ideals that unite a community. 

“It’s about freedom, it’s about equality, it’s about opportunity. And it’s also about democracy,” Johnson said. “You have an opportunity to participate in this incredible thing that we have here called democracy, to determine which direction our community, our state and our country will go and you all have the opportunity to play a vital role in that.”

MATC student Daniel Rosario Sánchez emigrated from the Dominican Republic three years ago as a civil engineer. 

Now that he’s an American citizen, Sanchez said he hopes to be an example for others who want to follow in his footsteps. 

Sanchez said before gaining citizenship he wasn’t worried about deportation or Trump’s policies. He said he believes that’s just rhetoric. 

“I don’t believe what people put on social media,” Sanchez said. “I believe in God. And then everything will be alright.”