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Perhaps that was always true. On the one hand, our history supplies countless examples of the sins and transgressions committed in our ceaseless struggle to say who has the right to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. On the other hand, we call ourselves a nation of immigrants and take pride in the mythology of the melting pot.

In the months following a bitter election that saw the definition of what it means to be an American called into question, we witnessed 20,000 people become naturalized U.S. Citizens.

We asked how they came to this country. We asked what the American Dream means to them. We asked these newest Americans if they had a message for the new President.

These photos were made and interviews conducted in the moments immediately prior to and following two naturalization ceremonies in Los Angeles in February and March of 2017.

Photography by Sam Comen, with reporting and writing by Michael Estrin.