Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg presided over a naturalization ceremony in New York City on Tuesday and told those taking the oath of citizenship the U.S. is a “nation made strong by people like you.”
Ginsburg addressed 201 immigrants from 59 countries during the ceremony at the New-York Historical Society and spoke about the experiences of her father, who emigrated to the U.S. from Russia when he was 13.
It’s believed Ginsburg, 85, is the first member of the Supreme Court to participate in a naturalization ceremony in New York in recent years, according to the New York Times.
Ginsburg told the New York Times it was her idea to preside over the ceremony at the New-York Historical Society, and said it stemmed from an article she read in the Times about a program from the historical society for green card holders studying for the naturalization test.
“I thought it was a grand idea,” said Ginsburg, who will celebrate her 25th year on the Supreme Court in August. “So, I wrote to N.Y.H.S. and said if ever I am in town when they had a naturalization ceremony, I would be glad to participate.”
During her remarks Tuesday, Ginsburg tracked the country’s history from the preamble of the Constitution to the abolition of slavery to amendments to the Constitution granting women and African Americans the right to vote, the New York Times reported.
“Alexis de Tocqueville wrote that the greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than other nations, but rather in her ability to repair her faults,” the justice said.
Ginsburg encouraged the new citizens to exercise their right to vote and admitted the U.S. is still plagued by the “struggle to achieve greater understanding of each other across racial, religious and socio-economic lines.”
“We have made huge progress, but the work of perfection is scarcely done,” Ginsburg continued.
Following the ceremony, the Brooklyn-born justice them met with fellows from the Immigration Justice Corps, an immigration legal fellowship program founded by Robert A. Katzmann, chief judge of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
