Surinderjit Kaur has lived in Oakland County for at least 20 years. On Wednesday, the 80-year-old Bloomfield Hills resident joined 25 other immigrants in taking an oath of allegiance to become a U.S. citizen.
They represented many different cultures and came from 17 countries: Australia, Canada, China, Côte d’Ivoire, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, India, Iraq, Lithuania, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, South Korea, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine.
After Kaur’s son and his family moved to Michigan decades ago, she and her husband visited and obtained visas for long-term stays. They applied for citizenship, but their applications lapsed during a series of events, including the COVID-19 pandemic and her husband’s illness and death. She received her permanent-resident card, also called a green card, in 2013.
Kaur reapplied for citizenship and was excited to learn she would take the oath of allegiance during a ceremony Wednesday at Oakland County International Airport. She arrived with her daughter-in-law, Jasmeet Sidhu, who became a citizen earlier this year. Sidhu said taking the oath gave her a sense of relief. The family came from the Punjab state in northern India.
Jishn Patel came to Michigan from the Gujarat state on the western coast of India to study at Wayne State University, where he earned a masters degree in mechanical engineering. General Motors hired him to work on electric vehicles.
It took the 34-year-old Rochester Hills man more than seven years to obtain citizenship, he said, after years of using educational or work visas to remain in the U.S. It’s a costly and lengthy process, he said.
“I think I have been lucky,” he said, adding that his citizenship was approved the first time he applied. He attended the ceremony with his wife, their infant daughter and his mom.
As for people who come to the U.S. without documentation, he said, “come legally, even if you don’t have a degree, there are several ways you can come into the country. Sometimes you have to wait for it, but sure, you will get the opportunity.”
County Commissioner William Miller of Farmington said he attends the citizenship ceremony every year. He reminded those present that Oakland County supports diversity and inclusion.
“It’s the foundation for progress and is our greatest strength,” he said. “May this day mark not just the start of your citizenship but a lifelong partnership of helping our community continue to thrive … Welcome home.”
Deputy County Executive Madiha Tariq told the group that less than a dozen years earlier she was waiting to recite her oath of allegiance and exchange her green card for a certificate of citizenship. Tariq was 16 when she came to the U.S. from Pakistan after being accepted into an honors academic program. She was a college graduate and a young mother when she became a U.S. citizen. In a full-circle moment, her daughter, Zara Peterson, sang “The Star-Spangled Banner” as part of the ceremony.
Tears welled up in Tariq’s eyes. She said her 16-year-old self, who arrived at the JFK airport in New York City feeling lost and confused, couldn’t have imagined a future as a leader working on public policy.
Oakland County Deputy Executive Madiha Tariq and her daughter Zara Peterson, chat with County Commissioner William Miller after a U.S. citizenship ceremony at Oakland County International Airport on Oct. 22, 2025. (Peg McNichol/MediaNews Group)
County Executive Dave Coulter said an estimated 14,000 immigrants living in Michigan obtained citizenship over the last year and emphasized the importance of the county’s 1.3 million residents learning to work together.
“To be an American means to be engaged. It means to speak up to injustice. It means to march when you don’t think something is going right … We have declared this is a democracy and everyone has equal rights, but there are times in our history when that has not been true. … We’re an experiment and we’re getting better every day.”
To the new Americans in his audience Wednesday, he promised “the sky is the limit.”
Stephanie Capuzzi, a supervisor for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Detroit field office in Troy, said the new citizens are united with the rest of the country “in a shared belief and promise of a better future.”
She led them in reciting the oath of allegiance, which requires new citizens to give up allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty and promise to fully support and defend the U.S. Constitution. The full oath is online at
https://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learn-about-citizenship/the-naturalization-interview-and-test/naturalization-oath-of-allegiance-to-the-united-states-of-america
After posing for group photos and waving small U.S. flags, Jasmeet Sidhu said she hopes people think twice before accusing strangers who look different or speak with an accent of being undocumented immigrants.
Commissioner Miller said people should ask questions before making assumptions and learn to accept others’ differences because they enrich our lives.
“If everybody was the same, we’d be boring,” he said. Among his prized possessions: Immigration paperwork from his great-great uncle, a welder, who came to the U.S. from England about 100 years ago.
Jishn Patel said he hopes more people born in the U.S. travel the world because it’s a good way to learn about other cultures and people.
Coulter told The Oakland Press it’s important for everyone in the country “to figure out this whole immigration issue. For people like this who are passionate, law-abiding, good people that just want to be part of this country – it’s the only reason Michigan and Oakland County grew in the last few years.
“If we want to continue to grow, it’s important to welcome and encourage people like these 25,” he said.
Originally Published: October 22, 2025 at 6:39 PM EDT