By Aaron Parseghian, WBZ-TV

Nearly 200 people from more than 50 countries became America’s newest citizens Tuesday, raising their right hands and reciting the oath of allegiance during an emotional naturalization ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

“By your hard work, patience, and commitment to this long process, you have all earned the right to be citizens of the United States of America,” said U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs, who presided over the naturalization ceremony. “I think that John F. Kennedy, if he could see us now, would love knowing that his library is one of the places where people become citizens.”

Boston naturalization ceremony

For some, the day marked the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Gaison Brumaire, who came to the U.S. from Haiti in 2016, said the ceremony opened the door to new possibilities.

“I’m just excited. I mean, there’s a lot of opportunity. Like, you know, we can vote now,” Brumaire said.

“I’ve long been hearing about America. America has been a great country, so it’s everybody’s dream. And I’m happy to be a part of it,” added Beatrice Gray, a new U.S. citizen from Liberia. “I’ve long been wanting this forever, and I decided to just abide by the rules and laws of this country and being in America, being so great. I mean, I’m so happy.”

Others described a mix of joy and relief. João Oliveira moved from Brazil to Milford as a teenager and spent nearly a decade waiting for this moment.

“Having all the responsibilities and rights that only you can get when you are a citizen, it’s awesome. It’s a thing that I always wanted to have,” Oliveira said.

“I feel so proud to be an American citizen”  

Despite living in the country legally, he said recent national debates and crackdowns on immigration left him feeling uneasy.

“You know we see a lot of political talk about immigration and everything and laws changing every time. You never feel safe,” Olivera said. “Someone could sign a law that makes you not part of this country anymore. So you always feel anxious about it. And being a citizen says, like, nobody can take this right away from me anymore.”

For Tibet native Yeshi Nyizing, becoming an American was the culmination of hard work and sacrifice.

“I work day and night and I pay a lot of taxes and then I made it,” she said. “I feel so proud to be an American citizen. I love America.”

A protest was held at Boston University Monday night after a student there claimed his tip led to an immigration raid at the Allston Car Wash last week.

The attorney for the nine employees who were detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said three had posted bail on Monday, but none of them had been released.

Video of the incident on November 4 showed ICE agents pull up to the car wash, put the employees in handcuffs and take them away.

“They were asked basically, ‘Do you have any id or documents?’ and when they said ‘Yes, it’s in our lockers,’ they were thrown in the vans and handcuffed and driven away by 22 agents with masks over their faces,” the workers’ attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told WBZ-TV.

Zac Segal statement

Three days later, Zac Segal, president of the BU College Republicans, posted a message online, saying, “I’ve been calling ICE for months on end. This week they finally responded to my request to detain these criminals. As someone who lives in the neighborhood, I’ve seen how American jobs are being given away to those with no right to be here.”

Those comments set off a social media firestorm and Monday’s protest on campus. WBZ has reached out to Segal several times in the last week, but he has not returned any requests for comment.

“This may be naive to say but I was very surprised that this kind of energy would come out of a Boston University student. It was just really disheartening and shocking to me,” said BU employee Olivia Maliszewski, who attended the rally.

Homeland Security rejects “silly rumor”

A spokesperson for Homeland Security said Segal wasn’t the reason for the raid. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin called it “a targeted immigration enforcement operation.”

“The operation was highly targeted and relied on law enforcement intelligence-not your silly rumor,” she said in a statement.

Boston University statement

BU President Melissa Gilliam said the school has “had many concerns raised by our campus community and neighbors” about Segal’s post.

“We must affirm the dignity and worth of all people. Too often, we fail to see one another’s full humanity, overlooking the rich complexity and unique gifts each person brings. When we focus only on differences-skin color, political views-we risk fostering division and pain where there should be unity and understanding,” she said in a statement.

Pomerleau said the nine employees were detained illegally without due process. They range in age from 19 to 67. One woman was taken into custody on her 45th birthday, according to Pomerleau. He said they’re immigrants from Guatemala, Columbia, Honduras and El Salvador and added that many of them have work visas.

“Three entered under the Biden administration, four were gotaways at the border, one entered illegally under W. Bush, and another overstayed his visa which expired under President Clinton,” McLaughlin said.

Allston Car Wash statement

Over the weekend, the car wash issued its first statement following the raid.

“At no point did this individual contact us, speak with management, or inquire about our employees or operations. Publicly labeling our workforce as “criminals” without any knowledge of who they are is reckless and distressing,” a spokesperson said of Segal’s comment.

“Our employees are good, hardworking individuals who come to work each day to provide for themselves and their families. We take pride in creating a workplace where people are treated with dignity and respect. Many employees have worked with us for years and in some cases decades.” 

The Michelin Guide will announce the restaurants included in its Northeast Cities edition on Nov. 18, at a ceremony at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

For the first time, the guide includes Boston and Philadelphia. The other cities in the Northeast category are Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C.

Michelin chooses which restaurants to include by sending anonymous inspectors out into the region. In addition to awarding one, two, and three stars to restaurants, it offers designations such as Bib Gourmand, recognizing good quality food that is a good value (in other words, places the inspectors like to eat when they’re off the clock), and a green star for sustainability.

Three star restaurants are extremely rare; among the handful in the United States, Alinea, Inn at Little Washington, and Masa all just lost their third star. Demoted to two, they remain in rarefied company. There are only about three dozen two-star restaurants in this country. Boston is likelier to see one star and Bib Gourmand awards for this year’s guide.

The guide’s presence is subsidized by local tourism boards. According to a Globe story, tourism marketing bureau Meet Boston declined to share the price tag for Michelin’s attention to this area, “but a person briefed on the matter indicated that the three-year partnership costs just over $1 million.”

Previously, Visit California reportedly paid Michelin $600,000 to expand its reach statewide. The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau spent $1 million. Colorado tourism boards and resort companies joined forces, paying $70,000 to $100,000 each for consideration, according to The New York Times.

Which Boston restaurants are likely to receive Michelin accolades?

Establishments that have garnered national attention will naturally be on inspectors’ radars. For example, Italian restaurants La Padrona and Pammy’s, Thai stunner Mahaniyom, and Jamie Bissonnette’s ode to Korean cuisine, Somaek, have all received recent mention in The New York Times.

O Ya, the little sushi omakase restaurant with a big reputation near South Station, has been a frequent speculative mention. Michelin has favored omakase spots in other markets: 311 and Wa Shin might also be among the contenders. Places with ambitious tasting menus — Asta, Mooncusser — could have similar draw. And perhaps nowhere has a more ambitious tasting menu than Nightshade Noodle Bar, offering up to 30 courses from chef-owner Rachel Miller. If this Vietnamese- and French-influenced ode to risk-taking and creativity isn’t a Michelin contender, what is?

That’s a question that’s hard to answer without knowing how Michelin thinks about excellence in 2025. Does the guide seek out time-tested stalwarts like Harvest and Oleana, deeply local neighborhood joints like Brassica and Urban Hearth, places that embody the terroir of the region (in our case, that would be seafood spots like oysters bars Neptune and Select), places with unique points of view that tell some kind of personal story, or all of the above?

Boston restaurants and diners will find out Nov. 18.

The Michelin Guide is a game changer for Boston

These Boston restaurants might fly under the radar, but they still deserve a nod from Michelin

Which Boston restaurants will get Michelin stars?

Devra First can be reached at devra.first@globe.com. Follow her on Instagram @devrafirst.