Garibay awarded citizenship

Lolita Harper

Jose Garibay realized his lifelong dream of becoming an American

citizen Wednesday for giving his life to serve this country.

Garibay, a 21-year-old Marine corporal from Costa Mesa, and Lance

Cpl. Jose Gutierrez of Lomita received posthumous citizenship from

the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in Laguna Niguel

after being killed in the war with Iraq, officials said.

Ron Rogers, the bureau spokesman, said Garibay’s application for

citizenship was signed Wednesday afternoon, officially classifying

him as a citizen. Garibay was eligible for citizenship through a law

passed by President Bush not long after Sept. 11, 2001, that called

for expedited citizenship for military service members.

The Garibay family, through the Camp Pendleton Office of the Staff

Judge Advocate and designated “casualty call officers,” applied for

consideration of posthumous citizenship, said Marine Lt. Daniel

Rawson at Camp Pendleton.

“I am glad there is a program established that allows families to

do that,” Rogers said. “If they had a family member that indicated

that they wanted to become a U.S. citizen, it is great that that wish

comes true.”

Simona Garibay, the mother of Newport Harbor High graduate Jose,

had said it was her son’s dream to become a citizen. He loved the

country and wanted not only to serve it but to officially belong, she

has said in interviews.

The certificate of Jose Garibay’s citizenship has yet to be

presented to the family, Rogers said. Military officials will

coordinate with the Garibays to set a date for the ceremony, he said.

Simona Garibay brought Jose to the United States from Jalisco,

Mexico, when he was 2 months old. He received residency, but was shy

of his quest for citizenship. Jose Garibay lived the life of many

citizen children, attending public schools and playing high school

football, but felt an even greater calling to his adopted homeland:

He wanted to serve in the armed forces.

Jose Garibay joined the Marines at 18, just out of high school,

and was based at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune.

He and six others from his base were killed March 23 near

Nasiriyah, Iraq, after encountering an ambush by enemy troops,

officials reported. Jose Garibay is the first Orange County casualty

reported in the war.

“The right thing to do in this situation is to exhaust every

avenue available to expedite the awarding of United States

citizenship to these Marines who have paid the ultimate sacrifice on

the battlefield in defense of freedom,” Rawson said.