Nearly 1,000 people in the Central Valley are now officially new U.S. citizens. And for many, they say the recent Presidential election played a big role. 975 people from 57 countries took the oath of citizenship at the Fresno Convention Center Tuesday, the final step in their process of moving from immigrant to citizen. Among them was 35-year old Norma Minjares, who was brought to the country by his parents as an infant. She, like many in the crowd, say last fall’s election pushed her to finally seek citizenship. “Because of the new president, to be honest. Because I don’t want to be sent back where I was born because I have children here.” Minjares says. California Secretary of State Alex Padilla spoke to the new citizens and their families. He said he agrees that the attention focused on the presidential election, and the president’s heated rhetoric on immigration, have shaped the will of many immigrants. “People are not just paying attention to politics like we haven’t in a long,
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