Kearns • Samuela Liava’a first came to the United States for a rugby tournament in Hawaii. Before he went, he wasn’t even sure he would be able to get a visa for the trip after some of his friends in Tonga had been denied.
On Tuesday, he got more than a visa. He became a citizen.
“It’s a blessing. It’s a great place,” he said after receiving his certificate. “... Over here, you can work, you can go to school. Anything you need is a dream, you can get it if you try hard to get it. There’s more opportunity as you become an American citizen.”
Liava’a and 33 others from 20 countries as far flung as Czechia, Thailand and Honduras waved mini American flags, listened to speeches from Utah Democratic House Reps. Carol Spackman Moss of Salt Lake City and Jake Fitisemanu of West Valley City, and formally swore their allegiance to the United States Tuesday morning. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Salt Lake County Office of New Americans and the National Tongan American Society put the ceremony at the Kearns Library together.
Uyen Huynh, a former citizen of Vietnam, first came to Utah in 2009 to pursue his doctorate degree in physics. Now, he is a part of the research faculty at his alma mater, the University of Utah.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Uyen Huynh smiles at a naturalization ceremony in Kearns on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025.
“I feel overwhelmed,” he said after the ceremony. “I don’t have any other words better than that to describe it. It’s a long, hard journey.”
Huynh said he wanted to become a citizen so he could participate in American democracy, calling it an honor. “I want to vote,” he said. “I want my voice to be heard.”
He said he was also looking forward to getting a passport and traveling freely.
Huynh and Liava’a become citizens at an uncertain time for immigrants. President Donald Trump’s second administration has launched a nationwide immigration crackdown, mostly on undocumented immigrants. The administration has also suspended the vast majority of refugee admissions, ended temporary protected status for those fleeing dangerous conditions and cut federal funding for some nonprofits that serve immigrants.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Saverina Ntamukunzi receives her certificate of citizenship while carrying her grandchild Issa Mechak Merci at a naturalization ceremony in Kearns on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025.
Joseph Genda, the county’s new American and refugee liaison, said more people are seeking to become citizens recently. Genda, a naturalized citizen himself, has a tip for those who are trying to secure their status.
“My advice to them: They have to learn,” he said. “They have to reach out for more information … so that they can learn about the process itself.”
Tuesday’s ceremony was the third Genda has organized this year in his role connecting immigrants to the resources they need to flourish in Salt Lake County.
Celebratory Polynesian “cheehoos” — a traditional yell or call — from Fitisemanu and Liava’a perhaps best captured the mood of the day.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Rep. Jake Fitisemanu, D-West Valley City, lets out a fa'aumu, or a celebratory yell, at a naturalization ceremony in Kearns on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2025.