Newly minted U.S. citizens celebrate naturalization at Rate Field: 'It's a dream come true'

For 46 years, Noemi Ramos Felix has been waiting to hear the words “You are now an American citizen.”

On Thursday, she finally did.

“It’s a dream come true, it’s my dream, it’s my sueno (Spanish for dream),” she said, pressing her hands together in prayer. “Thank God.”

Felix came to the United States from Zacatecas, Mexico, in 1979. She joined 24 other immigrants from a total of 15 countries Thursday in a naturalization ceremony at Rate Field before the White Sox-Detroit Tigers game. The new U.S. citizens stood proudly, clutching miniature American flags as U.S. District Judge Matthew Kennelly asked them to raise their right hands and repeat the Oath of Allegiance.

Felix, who lives in Rolling Meadows and works at Northwest Community Hospital in environmental support, was especially pro