April 09, 2025
Media Advisory: Naturalization ceremony is April 11 at SIU Simmons Law School
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Reporters, photographers and news crews are welcome to join about 65 of the nation’s newest citizens at a naturalization ceremony at 10 a.m. Friday, April 11, at Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Simmons Law School.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois will host the ceremony in the Lesar Law Building Auditorium, Room 120, with U.S. Senior District Judge J. Phil Gilbert presiding.
The Southern District of Illinois, one of three federal judicial districts in the state, comprises the 38 southernmost counties.
Although the ceremony is an official court proceeding, the court elects to host naturalization ceremonies at various locations within communities in the district. This provides opportunities for students and citizens to witness the naturalization process firsthand and learn more about how immigrants to the United States become citizens.
The ceremony will last about one hour. Media members are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner during the ceremony and remain quiet and unobtrusive. Interviews will be available once the ceremony concludes.
For more information, visit the court’s website, ilsd.uscourts.gov, call Monica Stump or Kristie Rensing at 618-482-9424, or contact Carly Holtkamp at Simmons Law School at carly.holtkamp@siu.edu or 618-697-2980.