Manhattan —
Over the past decade, more than 6.6 million people have been naturalized as U.S. citizens. This year has marked a five-year high in the number of naturalized U.S. citizens. Meanwhile, the number of undocumented immigrants has reached an estimated peak of 12.2 million.
Teacher assistant Frank Bussi of P.S. 877 was among 79 people who became naturalized citizens at a ceremony on Nov. 22. Bussi, who was born in the Dominican Republic, hopes the path to citizenship becomes more open for his fifth-grade students and future generations.