The Hon. Paul Lo of the Merced County Superior Court, the nation’s first Hmong-American judge, will deliver keynote remarks when 200 immigrants are sworn in as U.S. citizens at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 18, at Fresno State.

The special naturalization ceremony in the Satellite Student Union will be hosted by the Maddy Institute, in partnership with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Citizenship Academy and the Network for Integrating New Americans of the Central Valley.

Lynne Feldman, director of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Fresno field office, will conduct the ceremony and Ana Jovel Melendez, Maddy Institute deputy director, will give welcoming remarks.

A performance by multicultural dancers and other entertainment will begin at 8:30 a.m. The ceremony coincides with United Nations World Refugee Day, established in 2001 and observed worldwide on June 20.

The Citizenship Academy seeks to provide civic, economic and linguistic resources to help new citizens successfully integrate in the community. In addition to the Maddy Institute, the academy is supported by Fresno Adult School, San Joaquin College of Law, Fresno County Public Library, Fresno City College, Mi Familia Vota, and Every Neighborhood Partnership.

The academy complements the work of the Network for Integrating New Americans of the Central Valley, one of five networks nationwide participating in the Networks for Integrating New Americans initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education.

Parking is free on weekends and visitors are advised to park in Lot P6 (enter from Shaw and Woodrow avenues).

To RSVP, email ajovelmelendez@csufresno.edu.

For more information, contact The Maddy Institute at 559.278.1133, mkeppler@csufresno.edu or visit www.maddyinstitute.org.

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