South Sudan Woman's path to US citizenship almost 10 years in the making

FARGO — At North Dakota State's Barry Hall, dozens of members of the international community have unlocked a new world of possibilities, as Wednesday they became American citizens.

There were four groups throughout the day accounting for roughly 150 new citizens, those of which came from over 30 countries.

They live in Fargo, Bismarck, Grand Forks and many other cities and communities across North Dakota.

Stella Makur is one of them, she's here originally from South Sudan. She said her road to this point — coming from a country at war — has been anything but easy.

"It's not fun coming from a country that, you know, they don't even think about peace. And you know, there is no possibility of peace, there's no possibility of opportunities. You see people dying because of unnecessary war and all those things. It's not fun. It's just traumatizing," said Makur.

She and her family left her home country in 1994 seeking peace and safety.

They made it to Uganda, and eventually in 2013 to the United States. They landed in Iowa before they made their way to North Dakota in 2014. She's now living in Fargo.

"We have family over here. It's a great community for raising kids, you have a lot of opportunity if you want it. There's a lot of jobs, apartments are cheaper and all these things," said Makur.

Makur said the move here and officially becoming an American citizen provides a ton of opportunity for her, her daughter, and the children she hopes to have in the future.

"They have the opportunity if they want it, you know, but over there, it's not. It's not like that. So it's been not easy. Losing parent from all this world — sisters, cousins, is it's been tough. But now here, we thank God," said Makur.

Now that she's a citizen, she can finally get a passport and fulfill a dream she's waited more than a decade for.

"I can take my daughter home in Africa to go see how Africa is like one day. So they'll all feel great, my daughter is going to be so happy that she's going to go back to Africa and see what is going on over there."