California leader, a child of immigrants, welcomes 1,000 new U.S. citizens

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla helped welcome 1,000 people to U.S. citizenship Tuesday during a naturalization ceremony at the Fresno Convention Center.

Padilla’s parents emigrated from Mexico and settled in the Los Angeles County town of Pacoima, a working-class community. Padilla’s father was a short-order cook and his mother was a house cleaner.

He went on to graduate from MIT with a degree in mechanical engineering. Padilla was a state senator from 2006 to 2014, then won election as secretary of state in 2015.

Among those taking the Pledge of Allegiance was Kulwinder Kaur, from India, who had her 6-month-old daughter, Avneet Khosa, alongside.

Sisters Phanomphorn Kingkham and Thongphone Kingkham, both from Laos, also became new citizens.

This story was originally published May 16, 2017 at 2:57 PM with the headline "California leader, a child of immigrants, welcomes 1,000 new U.S. citizens."