Justice Ginsburg swears in new citizens in NYC

NEW YORK (FOX5NY.COM) - Hundreds of people from 59 different countries filled the auditorium of the New-York Historical Society. They all have something in common: they came to the U.S. in search of the American dream. On Tuesday morning, they pledged allegiance to the American flag, which they now call their own.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg administered the oath of allegiance. But before doing so she told the story of her own family coming to America.

Sheila Burgel was born in Iran. During the Iranian revolution in 1979, her family migrated to the U.S. Although she had a green card, she said that when President Donald Trump took office she decided to take the step and begin the process of becoming an American citizen. She said that Trump's travel ban could have affected green card holders from Iran so he decided that becoming an American citizen was very important.

in 2017, more than 78,000 immigrants were naturalized in New York.