John Breunig (opinion): She helps others become U.S. citizens. Now she’s done the same for herself and her family. ‘This is my moment.’
By John Breunig, The Stamford Advocate
Pardon me while I skip to the ending.
Eva Lopez Reyman became an American citizen a few weeks ago. Talk to anyone who has taken the oath and they will tell you the emotions can be intense. It’s something natural-born U.S. citizens never get to experience.
It’s a personal moment, but Eva found her own focus shifting to the 30-or-so people surrounding her. She’s an immigration legal services paralegal for Building One Community: The Center for Immigrant Opportunity in Stamford, which means her job is to help people become U.S. citizens. Yet she had never been to a naturalization ceremony until her own.
“I can understand why they cry and are so happy. I was thinking about the journey of all of them. Their stories. It’s the last step of my work as a paralegal,” she explains.
I’ve made an Independence Day tradition of sharing stories about new Americans. Every immigrant’s chronicle is as different as a fingerprint. Eva’s isn’t unique just because of her work.