And I couldn’t be prouder that she’s a judge in my district, one I’ve had the honor to work with on professional panels, and appear before in Court.
From the New Yorker, A FEDERAL JUDGE HAS A MESSAGE FOR NATURALIZED CITIZENS (AND TRUMP).
I hope you’ll read the whole thing, but here are a few excerpts from the story:
On the morning of November 17th, in her courtroom in the Birch Bayh Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, in downtown Indianapolis, Judge Barker delivered a heartfelt speech that reads as an apology as much as it does a call-to-arms. She addressed sixty-eight immigrants, from places as varied as Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, along with their families. Members of the Daughters of the American Revolution handed out small American flags. And representatives from the offices of the state’s senators and congressmen were also in attendance, along with a representative from the state’s bar association and the U.S. Attorney’s office.
For more than thirty years, whenever I have had the privilege of presiding over a naturalization ceremony such as this, I typically have delivered upbeat, hopeful remarks. Today, I want to talk about your responsibilities as new citizens. In light of the turbulent events in recent weeks, which played out as part of the political campaigns and were characterized by some really ugly, divisive, and demeaning words and hate-filled, violence-tinged name-calling, your responsibilities as new citizens have become more important than ever. You will now be called upon to do your parts to help build and maintain our country’s best values and highest principles and historic traditions.
Judge Barker was just getting wound up.