This ran over the weekend in The San Diego Union-Tribune… 
by Tony Krvaric, Chairman, Republican Party of San Diego County
“I want to become an American.”
Those words were uttered when I was just 14 years old, living in Sweden. My parents had fled communist Yugoslavia to arrive in Sweden in search of a better life. While growing up in Sweden was great and comfortable, there was something missing.
President Ronald Reagan’s message about American exceptionalism, Judeo-Christian values, opportunities offered by a free enterprise system and standing up to evil oppressive regimes like the Soviet Union resonated with me. So at a young age I decided I wanted to become an American.