Federal Magistrate Judge John Primomo said those who don't like that Donald Trump won the election should "go to another country," according to CBS affiliate KHOU in Houston.
"I can assure you that whether you voted for [Trump] or you did not vote for him, if you are a citizen of the United States, he is your president and he will be your president," the judge said.
"And if you do not like that, you need to go to another country."
The judge who was presiding over a U.S. citizenship ceremony in San Antonio, also criticized the recent protests against president-elect Trump, and singled out NFL players who are refusing to stand for the national anthem.
"I detest that, because you can protest things that happen in this country; you have every right to," Primomo said. "You don't do that by offending national symbols like the national anthem and the flag of the United States."
Primomo later said he meant the words to express a desire for unification and respect for the office of president, and that he did not vote for Trump. After news of the judge's remarks broke, a MoveOn.org petition was created to have him censured.
But the newly minted Americans had a more hopeful outlook.
"The essence of Americans is that you have the right to vote and choose [who] to represent you," Rafael Guerra, a Mexican-born American, told KHOU.
"The freedom and the importance that ladies get in this country is independence," Vharati Dharwadkar, an immigrant from India, said according to the affiliate. "She can freely say whatever she has to say. I feel free in this country compared to my country."
"It is exciting to be an American. I believe that America is bigger than whoever is in office," Mohammed Al Farradh, formerly of Iraq, added to KHOU.
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