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New Americans Welcomed After Kids-Only Naturalization Ceremony

By Michael Abeyta

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (CBS4)- Santiago Abarca and his brother Alexandro are from Peru. Last year, they moved to the United States to live with their father and step mother who are American citizens.

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Santiago remembers, "It was a really long travel. It was 16 hours and we were tired."

They came because they see the U.S. as the land of opportunity and they want to get a better education.

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"I wanted to study here. I want to study architecture so that was my plan," says Santiago.

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On Friday after a year of waiting, their dreams started coming true. They, along with 34 other children became U.S. citizens.

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A kids-only naturalization ceremony like the one held of Friday is rare, there are only a couple of them each year. A total of 36 children from 18 countries became citizens Friday. Some of them have been adopted, and some of them have parents who are already citizens like the Abarcas.

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Erik, Alejandro and Santiago's father, became a citizen 10 years ago.

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Even though all of these children have a different story, there are now two things they have in common. They are Americans and they have parents who couldn't be happier for them.

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Erik Abarca says of his sons, "I'm proud of them because [it was] a big step for them to move to this country from another country and adjust to all the changes."

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Santiago Abarca is currently a senior at Legacy High School and hopes to attend CU Denver next fall to study architecture.

Michael Abeyta is a 4th generation Coloradan and a Multimedia Journalist for CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 5 & 6. He is on Twitter! Follow him @AbeytaCBS4.

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