A half century ago, João Antonio Tracci and Pilar Neira Gonzalez, my parents, took the oath of naturalization and became American citizens. That is one reason why on the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of American Independence, I was especially honored to make the motion – on behalf of the United States – for the court to administer the oath of citizenship to naturalize 75 new Americans at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello. This marked both the culmination of a legal process and a new beginning for our fellow citizens and their families. The ceremony further affirmed the transcendence of American citizenship and our shared obligation to defend the defining ideals upon which it rests.
America’s foundational values find best expression in the Declaration’s “self-evident truths” that all men are created equal, and that we are endowed by our Creator with certain “unalienable rights,” including “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” America’s identity was shaped by the vision and courage of our Founders — the eloquence of Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson, the genius of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, and the peerless valor and immortal humility of General Washington. America’s founding ideals were preserved by President Lincoln, broadened by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, and sustained by the courage and sacrifice of every subsequent generation. The American promise is grounded firmly in the conviction that Divine Providence has imbued us with fundamental rights and liberties that governments are established to safeguard. A promise that reflects the universal aspirations Thomas Jefferson forged into the Declaration that established our Independence and continues to illuminate the world.
These founding ideals find powerful expression in the principle of “equal justice under law,” the aspirational cornerstone of America’s legal system. In a tripartite and federalist constitutional structure that serves as a bulwark against a concentration of power that is the sure invitation to tyranny. In a legal tradition that aspires to fairness and impartiality above race, politics, or social station.
In May 1944, at “I am an American Day,” Judge Learned Hand spoke of the meaning of liberty and American citizenship. “We have gathered here to affirm a faith, a faith in a common purpose, a common conviction, a common devotion. Some of us have chosen America as the land of our adoption; the rest have come from those who did the same. What do we mean when we say that first of all we seek liberty?
“I often wonder whether we do not rest our hopes too much upon constitutions, upon laws and upon courts. These are false hopes; believe me, these are false hopes. Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can do much to help it. But while it lies there, this spirit needs no constitution, no law, no court to save it.
“What then is the spirit of liberty? I cannot define it; I can only tell you my own faith. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the mind of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interests alongside its own without bias; the spirit of liberty remembers that not even a sparrow falls to earth unheeded; the spirit of liberty is the spirit of Him who, near two thousand years ago, taught mankind that there may be a Kingdom where the least shall be heard, and considered, side by side with the greatest.”
There are those who contend that humility and national pride are incompatible. But Americans can be humble while embracing our exceptionalism. The American system constrains the power of government to abridge or diminish rights conferred by the Creator. It upholds personal dignity, preserves liberty, freedom of worship, and accords to each individual the autonomy to realize their full potential. This is unique in world history, and defending it demands sacrifice. We must be forever grateful to the patriots who established our country, to those who have given the last full measure of devotion to preserve it, and to those who continue to rise in America’s defense.
Is it too much to expect Americans to recognize the fundamental goodness of the country for which our fellow citizens have sacrificed so much? We can affirm America’s virtue while seeking to reconcile past injustice; extol our founding principles while aspiring to fully realize their promise; and take pride in the state of our union while striving to perfect it. And while addressing past faults, we must emphatically reject the destructive impulse to transform America’s missteps into weapons of national division.
Americans share core values that ensure national unity and cohesion. With American citizenship comes the common purpose and shared obligation of a unified people reflected in America’s unofficial motto: E pluribus unum – out of many, one. In offering the promise of American citizenship to those who lawfully seek it, we must also ensure that the full measure of America’s promise remains available to our fellow citizens whose families have made America their home for generations.
We must defend American citizenship against those who miscast national unity as political arrogance, who defame patriotism as prejudice, and conflate national pride with cultural condescension. The shared identity and common fate of American citizenship transcends race, ethnicity, and faction — serving as a fortress and firewall against the ancient, centrifugal tribalisms our New World relegates to the Old.
As a first generation American, my family lineage flows from Outeiro de Rei – Lugo, Galicia, Spain, and from Mantua and Padua, Italy by way of South America. My wife’s maternal grandparents were born in the United States, yet her grandparents, mother, and uncle suffered the injustice of being removed from their homes, by the country of their birth, and relocated to the Heart Mountain Internment Center in Wyoming. America is neither perfect nor without sin; no institution established by human beings can or will be. I am profoundly grateful my parents chose our country as their own. For America’s goodness – and greatness – are without parallel in history.
As the First Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia, I was honored to make the motion to welcome our newest citizens into the American family on July 4, 2026. We should take pride in the integrity of our institutions and must respect our laws, including those through which the extraordinary privilege of American citizenship is earned. With American citizenship comes freedom, liberty, and equality of opportunity. But only so long as we have the fidelity and courage to preserve, protect, and defend them.
Robert Tracci is First Assistant United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia.
